Ban Seismic Testing

 I have helped write the Animal Justice Party's submission against the CGG 3D Marine Seismic Survey in the Otway Basin. CGG are proposing to undertake a Regia three-dimensional (3D) marine seismic survey (MSS) in Victorian waters off the Otway Basin. The purpose of the Regia 3D MSS is to collect high-quality geophysical data about rock formations and structures beneath the seabed and assess for new gas.  Seismic testing is a method of searching for oil and gas reserves using blasts of sound from airguns. These blasts are powerful and are able to penetrate the ocean floor, relaying data about what lies beneath the ocean floor back to the surface, which is gathered by geophones attached to surface vessels, which is then relayed to a central location for the data to be reviewed.  Studies included in our submission identify that seismic blasts can cause considerable damage to marine loss, from damaged hearing, displacement from breeding grounds, change to migration patterns t...

 There is an absence of knowledge regarding the impact of seismic blasts on turtles and further studies and research is desperately needed to determine the effects of seismic testing on Turtles. Potential impacts of noise on turtles include interruption of essential behaviours, masking signals of interest (e.g., the sounds of predators, conspecifics or prey), displacement from crucial habitat, direct physical injury including temporary or permanent hearing loss, and in extreme cases, death. A further potential negative result of performing seismic tests include the risk for marine animals such as turtles to become entangled with equipment, either towed via the vessel or deployed on the sea bed. Written by Tim Hawthorne

 Seismic blasting air guns can shear off hair cells in adult rock lobsters. The loss of hair cells can affect the coordination of the rock lobsters. This is measured by testing the “righting reflex”, which is a test in which a rock lobster is flipped on its back and the time that is required for the rock lobster to right itself is measured. Studies has shown seismic blasts increase the time taken to enact their righting reflex by 80-157%. Studies detected that the intervals between moulting increases in lobsters exposed to seismic blasts, increasing from between 16 and 18 days to between 23 and 30 days, which may result in a slowing of their overall growth rates.  Their normal moulting usually occurs when predators are less likely to be in their area, so the delayed moulting exposes the rock lobsters to a greater risk to predators, just as their new shells are hardening.  The environment plan does not appear to adequately assess the long-term impacts of seismic testing on...

Sound is important for the survival of marine mammals, as they use it for foraging, reproduction, communication, detection of threats and navigation. Weilgart (2007), Williams et al. (2015) and Erbe et al. (2018) reference marine mammals as being particularly sensitive to anthropogenic noise. Both lethal and sub-lethal physiological effects are possible when marine mammals are exposed to high intensityunderwater noises at close range. Potential effects include damage to body tissues (resembling decompression sickness in humans), damage to hearing and chronic stress.  Gordon et al., (2003) and Gray and van Waerebeek (2011) reported a single pantropical spotted dolphin showing severe behavioural distress followed by ataxia near a seismic array. Mann et al. (2010) reported several incidences of permanent hearing loss in stranded odontocetes where exposure to high levels of anthropogenic noise cannot be dismissed. There is very limited research on the impact of seismic blasts on dolphi...

With the amendment to the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981, brings Australia laws in line with international laws as part of the London Protocol. Sea dumping is the deliberate disposal of wastes or other matter from vessels, aircraft, platforms or man-made structures into the sea. It does not include material released directly into the sea from a land source or operational discharges from ships. The London Protocol sets up a framework which prohibited sea dumping and which required parties to apply for a special permit for approved materials to be dumped. Will facilitate the expansion of gas projects, and as a result increase in seismic testing in Australian waters. Sleipner and Snohvit structures operating in Norway, are the most studied geological structures. They have had over 30 years of countless seismic acquisition or seismic blasting operations just to study and monitor those two carbon capture and storage fields. The Environmental Minister, Tanya Plibersek woul...

Injury to whales is an offence under the  Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. There is evidence that as a result of seismic testing whales s top feeding, they m ove away erratically and at speed, c hanges to their acoustic behaviour, d isplaced from their habitat, c hanges to their migration patterns and any of these in Australian waters would be an offence under the above act. The impacts of the seismic blasts can cause  interruption of essential behaviours, masking signals of interest (e.g., the sounds of predators, conspecifics or prey), displacement from crucial habitat, direct physical injury including temporary or permanent hearing loss, and in extreme cases, death to the whales.  Marine fauna observers on board seismic testing vessels to look for whales are inadequate. How can an observer on the bridge see what whales are around behind them, beside them, they can only see what is in their peripheral vision, their vision further reduces ...