March 5, 2015 — Leading ocean scientists from the U.S. and around the world today urged President Obama to halt a planned oil and gas exploration program off the Atlantic coast involving millions of underwater sound blasts that would have “significant, long-lasting and widespread impacts on the reproduction and survival” of threatened whales and commercial fish populations.
In a letter to the President, the 75 scientists from Cornell, Duke, the New England Aquarium, Stanford, the University of North Carolina and other U.S. and international institutions say that the seismic blasts, from high-volume airguns that fire every 10-12 seconds, are nearly as loud as conventional explosives and have “an enormous environmental footprint.” Experts say airgun noise is loud enough to mask whale calls over thousands of miles.
The letter is the first time that a group of prominent scientists has said that the harm from seismic blasting will be significant and long-lasting for entire populations of marine life off the U.S. coasts.
Because whales depend on sound waves to communicate, feed, mate and travel, the blasting can disrupt the reproduction and feeding of blue whales and other endangered whales “over vast ocean areas,” the letter says. It expresses special concern for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, of which only 500 remain.
The blasts also “could have potentially massive impacts on fish populations,” according to the letter. In some countries seismic testing has driven away commercial species, resulting in dramatic drops in catch rates. Studies also show the airguns could kill fish eggs and larvae, interfere with breeding and make some species more vulnerable to predators.
“People are rightly concerned about the dangers of offshore oil spills, but seismic blasting is likely to have a terrible impact on Atlantic sea life before the first well is even drilled,” said Michael Jasny, Director of NRDC’s Marine Mammal Protection Project.
Read the full story at the Moultrie News