It’s disappointing that the Navy is asking the National Marine Fisheries Service to ease up on its “incidental take” operating permit, in order to allow for more injuries and deaths to endangered whales during Pacific training.

The Navy’s current permit for its Hawaii-Southern California training area allows up to three large whales to be killed in “ship strikes” at sea. The permit expires in 2025, but the Navy already has hit that limit in incidents off Southern California. Rather than adopting a slow-down approach in known habitats, the Navy is now asking for retroactive permission for two more fatal strikes.