United States Navy Marine Mammal Program
The US Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) is a US Navy- led program to study the military benefits of marine mammals. Bottlenose dolphins and sea lions in particular are trained in tasks such as protecting ships and harbors, discovering and clearing mines, and recovering equipment. The base of the project is in San Diego , California , where continuous training with animals takes place. For example, groups of NMMP animals were used in maritime combat zones during the Vietnam War and the Iraq War.
Ever since the program was founded, it has been surrounded by fierce controversies about keeping animals and speculations about the nature of the missions and training. Part of this controversy has been facilitated by the fact that the program until the early 1990s as classified information was handled. Since the opening of the project, however, the concerns of animal rights activists have increased, who often oppose the military use of marine mammals even in non-combatant roles such as mine sweeping. The Navy, on the other hand, states that it adheres to the basic animal welfare regulations through external supervision and continuous monitoring of the animals.
history
The origins of the program go back to 1960, when a white-stripe dolphin was procured for hydrodynamic study purposes to improve torpedo performance . The aim here was to investigate whether dolphins had developed a complex system for reducing the drag, which, however, could not be shown with the available technology. Research continues today with modern technology, whereby it is assumed that in particular the flexibility of the skin, biopolymers and the heating of boundary layers play a role in reducing drag.
In 1963 , due to the animals' exceptional intelligence, trainability and diving ability, a new research program was founded in Point Mugu , California . The research facility was built on a sandbank between the Mugu lagoon and the Pacific. The aim was to study the senses and abilities of dolphins, such as their natural sonar and physiology designed for deep diving, and to identify meaningful training tasks for dolphins and sea lions, such as marking and searching for objects. A great success of this program was the discovery that it was still possible to work reliably with trained dolphins and sea lions when they were unleashed in the open sea.
In 1965, a Navy dolphin named "Tuffy" took part in the SEALAB II project in La Jolla , California , by transporting tools and messages between the surface and the habitat at a depth of 60 m. Tuffy has also been trained to locate missing divers and guide them to safety.
In 1967 the facility was relocated from Point Mugu to Point Loma in San Diego and placed under the control of the newly established Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego (SSC San Diego, which was previously known by various other names). In addition, a laboratory was set up in the Hawaiian Marine Corps Air Station on Kāne'ohe Bay . As a result of a base realignment and closure process, the laboratory was closed in 1991 and most of the animals were moved to San Diego. However, some animals stayed behind for joint exploration by the US Navy and the University of Hawaii .
The program
The base of the NMMP is part of the SSC San Diego. The animals are trained in San Diego Bay ; Dolphin trainers can often be seen in this bay, where the animals are transported between their habitats and the training areas by means of small special boats. Other sites are used for some research, such as San Clemente Island in California and the Channel Islands , as well as torpedo test sites in Seattle and Canada . According to official information, the animals are used to protect harbors and properties of the Navy from attacks by swimmers, the search and recovery of expensive equipment and training targets, as well as the reconnaissance of sea mines.
There are five groups of animals, each of which is trained for a specific task. Each human-animal group is given a designation (English "mark" or "MK" for short), the existing groups are "MK 4" - "MK 8". MK 4, 7 and 8 use dolphins, MK 5 sea lions and MK 6 both species. The groups can within 72 hours by ship, airplane, helicopter or land vehicle in national and international fields of application laid be.
Mine search
Three of the marine mammal groups are trained to clear enemy sea mines. These mines represent a serious threat to the ships of the US Navy. MK 4 and MK 7 clear up enemy mines and mark them. MK 4 specializes in fixed anchor ground mines and MK 7 mines lying on the seabed or buried in sedimentary rock. MK 8 clears safe corridors for landing troops.
In action, the dolphin waits for a signal from its trainer before it begins to search an area using its natural echolocation . The dolphin reports any finds to its trainer by means of specified answers. If a mine-like object is discovered, the trainer instructs his dolphin to mark this object. In this way it can be avoided by ships or neutralized by divers.
Minesweeping dolphins were used in the Persian Gulf during the 2003 Iraq War . According to the Navy, the animals helped clear more than 100 sea mines and booby traps in the port of Umm Qasr .
Guard duties
MK 6 uses both dolphins and sea lions as guards to protect port facilities and ships against unauthorized swimmers. MK 6 was first used in the Vietnam War between 1971 and 1972 and Bahrain from 1986 to 1987.
Object recovery
MK 5 specializes in the recovery of objects (e.g. training mines) that are fired from ships or thrown from aircraft over the sea. The group uses sea lions to locate the objects and attach rescue equipment to them. In this role they can do far more than human divers, whose dives are limited in duration and frequency. In addition, the group uses exercise dummies to practice how to rescue victims from plane crashes.
MK 5 demonstrated its abilities in November 1970 when it recovered an ASROC (Anti Submarine Rocket) from a depth of 50 m.
Assault Missions
In the media as well as in fiction, there were numerous speculations about attack training for Navy dolphins, for example direct attacks on swimmers or the attachment of sticky mines to anchored ships. According to the Navy, such training did not take place. Since dolphins cannot tell the difference between friendly and hostile ships or swimmers, the success of such an operation could not be foreseen. Instead, the animals are trained to discover all mines and swimmers in a target area. Based on the feedback from the animals, the trainer decides which measures are to be taken.
The US Navy has a wide-ranging arsenal of conventional weapons that can be used against ships anchored in ports: for example the Mark 48 torpedo, the Mark 67 submarine-launched mobile mine and the MK-60 CAPTOR mine. A single hunting submarine can bring up to 40 MK 67 mines into an 8–10 km target area, each of which is equipped with a 230 kg warhead. This capacity is much larger and more predictable than the use of dolphins.
The animals
The Navy claims to have used the following animals within the program:
| Whales : | Seals : | Other: |
Bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions are primarily used today and kept at the San Diego base. The ability of dolphins to locate objects in the water and on the sea floor through their natural echolocation has not yet been achieved using artificial sonar. Sea lions, on the other hand, have sensitive hearing underwater and excellent vision in poorly lit areas. Both types can be trained and are able to perform repetitive deep dives. By the late 1990s, approximately 140 marine mammals were used in the program.
Animal welfare
The program is continuously surrounded by controversy, which mainly arises from alleged abuse. However, there are also concerns about the military use of animals in general.
The Navy guidelines only provide for positive reinforcement dressage techniques for training the animals and keeping them according to generally accepted standards. According to the NMMP, these requirements are strictly met within the meaning of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Animal Welfare Act . The Association for the Accreditation of Animal Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) lists the NMMP as a recognized institution. This voluntary recognition requires that research programs meet animal welfare standards above the legal framework. Since the approval is primarily aimed at the keeping conditions of laboratory animals, there are no framework conditions for the use of the animals. The NMMP is also listed as a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums .
Even if the requirements are met, the military use of marine mammals continues to generate resistance. Above all, the inevitable stress of these trainings is mentioned, which does not occur in the natural habitat of the animals, as well as their habitats outside the trainings. The use of muzzles, which prevent the dolphins from foraging while they work, is also controversial. According to the Navy, this serves primarily to prevent the dolphins from swallowing harmful objects, but opponents of the program consider it to be a strengthening of the trainer's control, which is rewarded with food for successful tasks. The rehabilitation or further management of “retired” animals is another cause for concern.
The areas in which the animals are used are also important for some critics, because transport and the sudden relocation to an area that is not familiar to the animal create stress for this. Dolphins native to the operational area could also pose a threat to NMMP animals, as they defend their territories against intruders.
Other concerns concern the dangers to which the animals are exposed in their working environment. On the one hand, this concerns the risk of a mine accidentally detonating. According to the Navy, however, the risk of this is minimal, as the animals are trained not to touch the mines and they should not be triggered by marine animals anyway. On the other hand, enemy forces that are aware of the minesweeping animals could kill dolphins on a large scale.
Media reception
In Frank Schätzing's novel " The Swarm ", the use of dolphins from the Marine Mammal Program is discussed.
