TransCanada doubts oil tanker traffic will stress out whales
The company planning to build the Energy East pipeline says concerns raised in a new report about the potential impact of the project on whales and some fisheries in the Bay of Fundy are unfounded.
A report released Wednesday by the Conservation Council of New Brunswick said noise from tanker traffic causes heightened levels of stress for the North Atlantic right whale, the most endangered large whale in the world.
It said studies show tanker traffic impedes the whales’ ability to communicate, forcing them to “shout” over tanker engines. And, when the noise reaches a certain level, they’re not able to communicate at all.
“Right whales form social groups while in the Bay of Fundy, an important part of their life cycle, relying on their ability to communicate to form these groups,” the report by the council’s Matthew Abbott said.
But Tim Duboyce, Energy East spokesman for TransCanada Corp., said the council is just trying to replicate the issue that caused TransCanada to cancel plans for an export terminal in Cacouna, Que.
The company said there were concerns for Beluga whales near the site, but Duboyce said the plan for a proposed export terminal in Saint John, N. B., is different.
“First of all, the proposed Canaport — Energy East terminal and tank farm are not located near the critical habitat of the right whale in the Bay of Fundy at all,” he said.
Duboyce said while the proposed terminal would see an extra 115 ship visits for the port each year, the traffic shouldn’t be an issue for the whales.
The council’s 22- page report said the Bay of Fundy’s world- famous tides and thick fog would make it difficult to clean up oil spills quickly.
It also said bitumen is likely to form into tarballs when mixed with salt water and sink, which could harm the region’s fisheries, such as bottom- feeding lobster and scallop.
But Duboyce said the company will have emergency plans in place.
“What we’re doing is putting in place measures to try to ensure that a situation like that never happens in the first place. Zero incidents is our aim,” he said.
New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant was promoting the Energy East project Wednesday during a breakfast speech to the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce.
Gallant said every natural resource and energy project comes with some risk, and that’s why it will get a thorough review by the National Energy Board.