Hanalei resident Raymond Chuan and other Kaua‘i residents were among the first to raise questions in the mid-1990s about the effects of underwater sonar testing on marine animals. “It started with what we said then,” Chuan said. “It was all
Hanalei resident Raymond Chuan and other Kaua‘i residents were among the first to raise questions in the mid-1990s about the effects of underwater sonar testing on marine animals.
“It started with what we said then,” Chuan said. “It was all Navy work, but posing as research at Scripps. In due time, we said, it would lead to full-scale Navy work, and that’s what happened.
“Because they expanded the work to the Bahamas and Canaries, it drew enough attention nationwide and in Europe that the Navy finally had to admit it was hurting the whales. It’s a long fought battle,” he said, “and now a significant victory for the whale people.”
