Thank you for contacting me about the impact of unexploded war bombs on our marine life.
We should do all we can to protect the welfare of our marine life, especially the whale and from my conversations with Ministerial colleagues I know they feel the same.
There are estimated to be between 300,000 and 500,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance left over from World War I and II in UK waters. Many of these unexploded bombs lie in areas which are heavily used by marine industries, including offshore wind and the bombs must be removed to allow safe working conditions. However, clearance of these munitions using traditional high order detonation causes significant underwater noise which has the potential to disturb and injure marine mammals.
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