BARNEGAT LIGHT, N.J. — July 3, 2014 — Opponents: testing off Jersey Shore could harm species, ruin fishing grounds, lead to oil drilling; rally held in Barnegat Light
As hundreds rallied against seismic blasting that is set to begin in the ocean off New Jersey later this month, officials with the state Department of Environmental Protection say they will sue the federal government to stop the blasting before it can start.
The state will seek an injunction against the federal government agencies that permitted the blasting and the allowance to kill or harass species in the process, including whales, dolphins and turtles.
The blasting is set to be conducted over 230 square miles of ocean floor off Ocean County, N.J. for a period of 30 days as part of a research study being conducted by Rutgers University and the University of Texas. The project will include 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.
The universities say the project will help map climate change over the last 60 million years and augment core samples taken from the ocean floor in 2009. But environmentalists and a host of fishing, boating and tourism industry groups have said the blasts will disrupt wildlife and kill fishing prospects off the New Jersey coast, which is home to multi-million dollar fisheries such as scallops and flounder. Some fear the blasts could also affect squid, the food source for most of the finfish in the ocean off the Jersey Shore, leading to a crippling of the state's recreational and commercial fishing and boating industries.
Environmental advocates have also raised concerns that the testing could produce data that could be used by oil companies to justify drilling off the east coast of the United States.
Read the full story at Lacey Patch