In a little-known part of the counter-terrorism world, one of the most effective detection systems is a 600-pound animal that works for about 20 pounds of fish a day.
在反恐界很少有人知道，還有這么一群600磅重的高效偵測系統(tǒng)，他們每天的工資就是20磅魚。

Since the 1960s, the United States and a handful of other countries have trained dolphins and sea lions to detect sea mines and swimmers, and to recover inert torpedoes and testing objects used in Naval exercises.
從1960年開始，美國和少數(shù)幾個國家就開始訓練海豚和海獅來負責偵測水雷和潛水者，當然也包括恢復那些沒有爆炸的魚雷和幫助海軍進行訓練。

Program officials estimate that the sea lions in the Marine Mammal Program have recovered millions of dollars of U.S. Naval torpedoes and instrumentation dropped on the sea floor.
這個項目的官員預計海獅已經(jīng)幫助美國恢復了幾百萬美元落在基岸的海軍魚雷和儀器。

The U.S. Navy kept its Marine Mammal Program a secret until the 1990s, and this spring CNN became one of only a handful of media outlets to see firsthand how the program works.
美國海軍一直保持這個秘密項目直到90年代，在今年春季CNN才成為少數(shù)幾個有機會一睹這個項目運作方式的媒體。

The program trains about 75 Pacific bottlenose dolphins, with natural biosonar that tracks better than any manmade device; and 35 California sea lions, with superb underwater eyesight.
這個項目訓練了大約75只太平洋瓶鼻海豚，他們的聲納系統(tǒng)比任何人造設備都更為精準；同時還有35只海獅，這些海獅在水下有超人的視力。

Not only do these trained marine mammals track and retrieve millions of dollars in U.S. military equipment, they are also helping to save lives.
這些受過訓練的海洋哺乳動物不僅僅幫助美國挽回了幾百萬美元的設備，還能夠挽救生命。

The Navy won't disclose whether the dolphins and sea lions have?effectively intercepted terrorists attempting to do harm to any U.S. facilities.
但是美國軍方并不愿意透露這些海豚和海獅是否有過成功阻截針對美國的恐怖活動。

Either way, "it serves as a deterrent effect," says Christian Harris, operations supervisor for the program.
但是這個項目的負責人Chritian Harris說：無論如何，它們都能起到威懾作用。

The mammals can be deployed via C-130 cargo aircraft to perform their missions anywhere in the world within 72 hours. They have been used in exercises from Alaska to Hawaii, operating in great temperature and environmental ranges. They also have the capability to operate off vessels.
這些動物可以登上C-130運輸機72小時內(nèi)在全球執(zhí)行任何任務。他們已經(jīng)在阿拉斯加和夏威夷參加過訓練，他們可以在非常嚴酷的氣溫環(huán)境下執(zhí)行任務。他們甚至可以脫離人的指揮執(zhí)行任務。

Dolphins most recently were deployed in the Iraq war, performing mine detection and clearance operations in the Persian Gulf to ensure safe passage for humanitarian ships delivering aid. Some of these Iraq war "veterans" are now back home, tasked with a new mission: guarding nuclear submarines in their homeports of Bremerton, Washington, and Groton, Connecticut.
海豚最近被部署到了伊拉克附近，主要目的是偵測水雷，同時保證Persian海灣是一個足夠安全的區(qū)域以備人道主義支援的船只可以通過。這些經(jīng)歷了伊拉克戰(zhàn)爭的“老兵”也有一些已經(jīng)回到了美國，接受新的任務：保護和他們自己的港灣在一起的美國核潛艇基地——華盛頓地區(qū)的Bremerton，以及康涅狄格州的Groton。