September 6, 2023 — Beachgoers spent their summer enjoying a reprieve from scorching temperatures, frolicking in the Atlantic Ocean, but marine life had a more difficult summer in the water as seismic testing related to offshore wind surveying is believed, by some, to have caused stress to certain species.
Kirk O. Larson, who has spent more than five decades on the water as a commercial fisherman while serving as Barnegat Light mayor for more than 30 years, said scallops, calamari (squid) and sea bass were among the species to experience stress and disturbance.
In fact, every time seismic testing occurs, sea bass “are hoppling up, scared to death on the bottom of the ocean. They probably won’t spawn this year, like the scallops and the squid. The ramifications down the road, in my mind … You can fact check me next year,” he told a crowd of more than 300 people at Bay Breeze Pavilion in Barnegat Light on Aug. 27.