September 25, 2013 — While a debate rages over the deleterious effects of seismic oil exploration on whales and dolphins, it turns out that our commercial fish stocks may be as vulnerable to the noise as are the marine mammals.
Cod populations are depleted everywhere, and the blame has been directed variously at fishermen for not managing stocks, at the protections afforded seals and sea lions, and warmer ocean temperatures — but there is strong evidence that the failure of these fish populations to rebound may be tied to the loud sonar and airguns that are nearly constant in areas where these fish are found.
This was demonstrated in a study which carefully evaluated the impact of seismic airguns in a region where Norwegian fishermen have fished for centuries, and the results of the study are staggering — up to 70 percent of the fish disappear immediately and do not return over the five days following exposure to the sound. The researchers also report that the biggest fish were the most likely to leave, and that all the fish were impacted for 18 nautical miles from the source.
"Effects of seismic shooting on local abundance and catch rates of cod ((Gadus morhua) and haddock )(Melanogrammus aeglefinus)" by A Engås, S Løkkeborg, E Ona, A V Soldal. Published on the web 09 April 2011. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
"Abstract: To determine whether seismic exploration affected abundance or catch rates of cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), acoustic mapping and fishing trials with trawls and longlines were conducted in the central Barents Sea 7 days before, 5 days during, and 5 days after seismic shooting with air guns. Add the possibility of oil spills which we already know are deadly to the marine environment, and it becomes clear why communities are united in their protest to keep the oil exploration at bay.
Read the full story at the Huffington Post