Tag Archives: Seismic Blasting
A seismic blasting whistleblower speaks
Hayley had been working on seismic blasting vessels for almost three years when she realised just how destructive the practice was. Her final assessment was simple: “I can’t believe that this is legal.” Hayley, who asked for her real name to not be used, was employed as a marine fauna observer. Her job was to look for marine mammals such as the southern right whale, which could be harmed by the blasts used to search the ocean floor for oil and gas. Blasting would be paused only when specific whales were sighted. The negative impacts of the blasting are hard to see because they happen below the surface. >click to read< 10:16
I Am a Small-Scale Fisherman Fighting to Save the Coasts of South Africa
I am Christian Adams and I am a fourth generation small-scale fisher. I grew up in a small town called Mamre. My grandfather was a very successful fisherman during the 1960s and 70s. He provided employment for about 60 families. He had 28 rowboats and employed two people on each boat. During lobster season, they would go camp at a place called Bokbaai and they would fish about 60 tons of lobster per year. In 1972, when the Apartheid government was planning to build Atlantis, they interviewed him and he said: “The only thing that we need is a proper road, some electricity in the phone line. We do not ask for anything else, because we are already thriving in our business that we have here.” None of that was provided and the Apartheid government instructed him to stop fishing at Bokbaai. Photos, >click to read< 10:06
Commercial fishermen fear seismic blasting in the Otway Basin will impact business and marine life
It’s understood Schlumberger Australia Pty Ltd have commenced a 100-day operation in a bid to find potential recoverable hydrocarbon – natural gas, oil and coal – in a 93,000 square kilometre area of the basin including off the entire south-west coast. It comes after the coronavirus outbreak halted crayfish exports across the country. Port Campbell cray fisherman Wayne Hanegraaf has thanked his lucky stars that he decided to sit this season out. >click to read< 06:30
North Carolina – Seismic firm moves to override state decision to deny offshore testing permit
A company recently denied state permits to conduct seismic surveys for oil and natural gas off the North Carolina coast is appealing to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to override the decision. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management found in June that WesternGeco’s proposal to conduct geological and geophysical surveys in the Atlantic was incomplete, inconsistent with the state’s enforceable coastal management policies and would harm fish and other marine life and put at risk coastal habitats and the coastal marine economy. >click to read< 09:14
FISH-NL condemns $20 million in spending on seismic blasting; Grand Banks ‘desperate’ for a break
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) condemns the decision by the Dwight Ball government to spend another $20 million this year on seismic blasting in the province’s offshore. “The Grand Banks are desperate for a break,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “Most commercial fish stocks are in hard shape, and plankton numbers are way down. Ottawa preaches caution with fisheries management, and Dwight throws that caution over the side of a seismic boat.” >click to read<10:48
FISH-NL repeats call for FFAW-Unifor to disclose money paid by oil industry; potential union conflict ‘taints’ seismic research
“The question of conflict of interest taints everything the FFAW touches — including DFO’s recent research into the impact of seismic blasting on snow crab — for as long as the union refuses to open its books,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. A 2018 DFO paper — Effects of 2D seismic on the snow crab fishery — concluded seismic activity does not have a “significant” impact on commercially caught snow crab. The paper used data the FFAW-Unifor helped collect, a contribution acknowledged in the report. At the same time, the FFAW has refused to reveal details of its financial arrangements with the offshore oil and gas industry to address questions of conflict of interest in also representing inshore fish harvesters.>click to read<14:11
FISH-NL: C-NLOPB ‘waking up’ to concerns over impact of offshore seismic activity
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is frustrated the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board isn’t prepared to suspend offshore seismic work, but encouraged the offshore oil and gas regulator is waking up to concerns. “Ottawa takes a precautionary approach to fisheries management — which means being cautious when science is uncertain — but there’s nothing precautionary about allowing seismic to continue until the potential risks are understood. ,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “The hypocrisy doesn’t escape inshore harvesters.” >click to read<20:06
New record of whale strandings along coast
While East Londoners have been enjoying a bumper season of whale sightings over the past few weeks, a fourth humpback whale in less than a month has beached and died along the East London coastline. East London Museum principal scientist Kevin Cole said the strandings were a new record for his cetacean database. Yesterday, Cole examined the badly decomposed carcass of the fourth dead humpback on the rocks west of Chintsa West.,,, He said a number of factors could be responsible for the strandings including old age, pollution, ship strikes and the effects of seismic blasting to explore for gas and oil offshore. click here to read the story 11:34
Seismic blasting, oil & gas drilling in Atlantic? Now’s the time to comment
The public is now being asked to comment on the president’s proposal to open up the Atlantic and all other federal offshore planning areas for potential oil and gas drilling. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the 45-day public comment period on a new Five-Year National Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program on the Outer Continental Shelf will begin Monday. The comment period will close Aug. 17. To comment on the proposed Five-Year National Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program: click here to read the story, scroll down page for instructions. 08:43
N.C. – 4 Days for public comments – seismic BLASTING from Sept. 15 to Oct. 22
This is the first I’ve read about this
project off the NC coast, and according to the article, there are only four days left to comment. North Carolinian Fishermen are very good at standing up and being heard. Make sure they hear you now. Just say no. All those marine mammals you get crucified over are going to get pounded to death, and your fish will take a big hit. Read more here, and blast some letters out. 15:47
Seismic Blasting Off Jersey Shore Postponed Until Next Year
“It is a victory for marine life this summer, and for the state of New Jersey and thousands of citizens that have rallied to their defense,” Zipf said. “The coastal economy won’t be a victim of Rutgers’ seismic blasting off our coast…this year.” <Read more here> 09:15
UPDATED: Court Rules Seismic Blasting off Ocean County Can Move Forward
The state’s commercial fishing industry, boating industry and environmentalists all strongly came out against the seismic blast testing, which will involve air gun blasts 11,500 feet underground that will reach sounds of 250 or more decibels and occur every five seconds, 24 hours a day, for a month. Read more here 18:00
Opposition Mounts to Seismic Blasting off the Jersey Shore
“We’re concerned here,” said Capt. Jim Lovgren of the in Point Pleasant Beach at a small rally against the blasting held there Friday morning. “That’s not a dinner bell for fish. If you’re in the water and you hear that sound, you flee. You don’t know what it is, and it’s hurting you.” Read more here 16:46
