ight whales that washed up on the shores of Adak – near the tip of the Aleutian chain – back in the summer of 2018 are at the center of the suit.
They are whales that relatively little is known about – called Stejneger’s beaked whales. It’s not even clear what their population is. They dive to ocean depths of around two miles deep, and can stay there for hours at a time.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility – also known as PEER – is behind the lawsuit. Richard Steiner is on the board.
“But we also know that unfamiliar sounds to them underwater causes them to spook to the surface way too fast, and cause what the veterinarians call barotrauma or decompression fatalities,” said Steiner.
