U.S. considers seismic testing off Georges Bank

The U.S. government is opening the door to seismic testing on the continental shelf off the Atlantic Coast, a step that could lead to offshore drilling on the U.S. side of Georges Bank for the first time in 30 years.

John Percy, Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia, today called on the provincial government to extend the moratorium of seismic testing off Georges Bank and widen the ban to include all provincial territorial waters.

A moratorium on testing and drilling on the Canadian side of Georges Bank — a rich fishing ground southwest of the province — expires on Dec. 31, 2012. Provincial and federal governments must decide by the end of July whether there will be a public review on the moratorium.

Seismic testing uses air guns that send explosive shock waves into the seabed, which then reverberate through the marine environment. Although the direction of the greatest sound intensity is downward, a considerable amount of energy is radiated horizontally. Seismic testing can be heard many kilometres from the source. For example, the seismic activity off Nova Scotia is heard off the Bahamas, several thousands of kilometres away.

" This deafening noise causes fish swim bladders to explode; it kills marine larvae and disrupts the traditional migratory paths of some fish species and marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins," said Mr. Percy.  "In some places, these disturbances have resulted in reductions in commercial fish catches up to 50 percent, and have caused whales to leave waters where they are habitually found."

According to Dr. Chris Clarke, Director of the Bioacoustics Research Program at Cornell University, seismic testing is the modern form of exploratory dynamite, and “the air guns represent the most severe acoustic assault to the marine environment that he can imagine short of naval warfare.”