Community Victory: Seismic Shift Against Offshore Drilling
Over 1000 people gathered as community members, First Nations groups, and environmental organisations joined forces to call for an urgent moratorium on seismic blasting, with the approval date looming for CGG’s seismic blasting proposal off the coast of Warrnambool and the Logans Beach whale nursery.
The day after the Albanese Government has called a federal election, community members from across Victoria are coming together to call for the next Australian Government to declare an urgent moratorium on seismic blasting for fossil fuels to protect endangered marine life such as the Koontapool/southern right whale from this harmful practice.
A matter of days after the Australian Parliament passed laws that could give a precedent for carve outs for polluting industries from Australia’s laws that should protect endangered species such as the southern right whale, community members are rallying to call for an urgent moratorium on seismic blasting for fossil fuels in Australia’s oceans.
The Albanese Government and the Coalition joined forces to ram through changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – a move AMCS describes as a devastating blow to Australia’s threatened wildlife, such as pygmy blue whales and southern right whales.The law change weakens our already broken nature laws, community consultation rights and sets a dangerous precedent: that species at risk of extinction can be sacrificed without scrutiny for big business profits.
The coal and gas industries climate wrecking projects all start with seismic blasting, often in endangered species habitats.
Tens of thousands of Australians have taken action opposing seismic blasting proposals off the coast of Victoria and across Australia. Seismic blasting of the ocean for fossil fuels displaces whales from their feeding, breeding and migration routes, and causes mass krill deaths up over 1 kilometer from each blast site.
Louise Morris, Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) Offshore Fossil Fuel Campaign Manager said: “Tens of thousands of Australians have called for an end to seismic blasting in our oceans. We’ve had significant wins seeing off the TGS seismic blasting proposal in endangered pygmy blue whale feeding grounds off the coast of Victoria. Now we have the threat of seismic blasting for fossil fuels by CGG in the migration routes of endangered southern right whales on their way here to Logans beach to have their calves.
We need urgent action from the next Australian Government to declare a moratorium on seismic blasting in Australia’s oceans, and the implementation of the recommendations of the 2022 Making Wave Senate Inquiry into Seismic Blasting.
Stanley Woodhouse, Friends of the Earth, Fossil Fuels Campaigner said: “At every stage of their development, gas projects disrupt the ecosystem and trash the environment. Seismic blasting is a potent example of the damage caused by the industry before they even begin drilling. The science on fossil fuels is clear – leave it in the ground. No new gas. End seismic blasting now”
Ben Druitt, Fight for the Bight Port Fairy said:”Seismic blasting is a literal blast from the past-a destructive relic that assaults marine life, endangers coastal communities, and deepens our reliance on fossil fuels. We’re calling for a moratorium on seismic blasting to protect our oceans and reject methods better left in the history books.”
Lisa Deppelar, Otway Climate Environment Action Network said: “Our government is failing us-ignoring both science and the voices of coastal communities who are fighting to safeguard our ocean. The 2022 Senate Inquiry into seismic blasting made 19 recommendations, but none have been enacted. We need an urgent moratorium on seismic blasting while these recommendations are enacted.”
Images: Hightail folder
https://www.marineconservation.org.au/community-delivered-a-seismic-shift-against-blasting-and-offshore-fossil-fuels/