April 23, 2013 — A push to protect marine life from seismic surveys has been backed by Tasmania's scallop industry, which says testing in Bass Strait in 2010 wiped out 24,000 tonnes of shellfish.
At the same time a study is under way at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania to try to understand how seismic surveys may affect marine life, in particular scallops and rock lobsters.
The Commonwealth Fisheries Association has lodged a nomination with the Department of Sustainability, the Environment, Water, Population and Communities for marine seismic survey activities to be listed as a key threatening process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
"There is growing evidence that seismic surveys cause damage to marine life, displacement from habitats and disruption to breeding," the association said.
Seismic surveys probe the seafloor using high-energy, low-frequency noise pulses from air guns.
Most are conducted by the petroleum and minerals industries.
The Fisheries Association nomination lists nine species that could become vulnerable or more highly endangered through continued seismic testing, including the Bass Strait scallop and the southern bluefin tuna.
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