DoC denies sonar kills whales in NZ

New Zealand has denied mass strandings of whales and dolphins in its waters are due to high-intensity sound, as claimed by an international environmental coalition.

But a prominent marine mammal scientist said there had never been any investigation of the issue in New Zealand, unlike other countries where it was widely acknowledged.

In New York on Thursday, the Ocean Noise Coalition urged the United Nations to take steps to protect marine life from the powerful sound waves used in oil and gas exploration and by the world's navies.

Scientists believe there is a link between the use of high-intensity sound and recent mass strandings of whales and dolphins in waters off Greece, Hawaii, New Zealand and elsewhere around the world since 1985.

The coalition of 120 organisations said in each of these cases, the strandings took place near high-intensity sonar or near the use of high-powered industrial "air guns" used in oil and gas exploration.

DoC spokesman Mike Donoghue said there was no evidence of such strandings in New Zealand.

But Massey University marine mammal pathologist Padraig Duignan said strandings due to sonar noise had never been investigated here.

Mr Duignan said the Government should be putting more resources into investigating strandings.

"There's no funding and it's difficult to get money. DoC resources are very stretched as they are."

Mr Donoghue said such strandings should not be confused with natural whale traps, such as Farewell Spit near Wellington, and other parts of the coastline, where whales and dolphins had stranded for years. Stranding records for whales dated back to 1840.

Sonar noise disorientates the big mammals who dive blind in the the ocean's depths but use their acute hearing to navigate the dark world.

The European Parliament and the International Whaling Commission are among groups recognising intense ocean noise as a threat to marine life and backing international controls.

Some governments including the United States, however, have argued that sonar use cannot be regulated internationally as it is a matter of national security.

- NZPA