Navy Wants to Militarize Bioluminescence

Down in the ocean’s depths, nearly every creature turns into a living glowstick, by converting chemical energy into light. So many things — even the energy of passing ships and subs — can cause single-celled organisms to light up. The Navy would like to turn that bioluminescence into a military tool. The service is looking to"develop a navigation aid for underwater vehicles that will sense [any] bioluminescence triggered" and report whether an adversary might be able to see the light — and detect the vehicle, as a result.
According to a Navy request for research proposals, "covert, underwater navigation in coastal and estuarine waters is often compromised by bioluminescence from marine phyto- and zooplankton, triggered by turbulence generated by the underwater vehicle. If the vehicle it close enough to the surface and if the bioluminescence is bright enough, the stimulated light can be observed above water."