Whales exposed to seismic tests (Australia)

Southern right whales may be in danger, say advocates.

March 14, 2012. OIL giant BP has acknowledged 10 whales have been spotted since November where it has been carrying out seismic tests.

BP has been carrying out potentially dangerous seismic testing for oil and gas reserves in the Great Australian Bight Marine Park.

The company confirmed leaked details of a meeting with environmentalists, which whale advocates said showed better protection for the animals was needed.

Pew Environment Group deputy director Michelle Grady, who was at the meeting with South Australian Conservation Council representative Kathryn Warhurst, said the most risky night testing should stop immediately. “At night, there is no way to know how close a whale is to the air gun used to sound-blast the sea floor,” she said.

“Refusing to halt seismic testing at night risks injury and even death for whales nearby.

“Aerial sightings are the only current way to establish if whales are present and how close to the testing area they are – at night, this is not possible.”

The seismic testing involves sound blasting at 260 decibels every 10 seconds from behind a survey ship. The testing can injure or kill whales if carried out too close to them.

The sound is created by a large bubble of air which collapses inwards, but the sound level does not travel as efficiently under water as it does through air. The test zone is an area of 12,500sq km and is about 350km southwest of Ceduna.

BP spokesman Paul Evans confirmed the testing would move to a northern area of the bight where whale sightings would be more frequent. He disputed the interpretation of details from the meeting.

He said the company had met all of its “stringent” environmental requirements of the testing licence and legislation.

“We have four independent marine mammal observers on the vessel. If whales come into the 3km observation zone, there is a shutdown,” he said.

“There are soft start-ups when we begin testing in case there are any mammals in the area. There is no testing during the southern right whale calving season and in low visibility the testing is not done if whales have been in the area in the past 24 hours.”

Mr Evans said while testing continued at night, whales in the area would have been identified in daylight hours if they were nearby.

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