Seismic testing a ‘disaster’ for fish

SEISMIC testing by the oil and gas industry in Australian waters is having a devastating effect on marine life, a Senate inquiry has heard.

The Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications hearing on the impact of seismic testing on fisheries and the marine environment sat in Hobart yesterday.

The industry uses sonic blasts — which are among the loudest sounds generated by humans — to search for offshore oil and gas deposits.

Committee chairman Senator Peter Whish Wilson said the resulting effects on marine life were poorly understood, although the fishing industry had seen serious harm.

“What we have here is a multi-trillion dollar industry, an industry that has been exploring for oil and gas for the last 50 years or so, and yet there’s been virtually no scientific research into the effects of seismic testing on marine life and commercial fisheries,” he said.

“The issue was first raised with me by commercial snapper fishermen in 2013 when I first became a senator. They said that once they were allowed back to fish after a round of seismic testing, they found there were no fish there any more.”

The fishery industry wants more consultation over testing, exclusion zones put in place for productive fisheries, and compensation for fisheries that are damaged by the testing.

John Hammond from the Scallop Fishers Association of Tasmania said the industry first noticed ill-effects of testing a decade ago.

“We were sitting at over 25,000 tons of fish in 2010. By the end of 2010 we didn’t have any fish — $70 million dollars worth of fish,” he said. “The whole ocean dropped dead in a very short space of time.

“It was a very intense seismic operation. There’s no doubt about the damage, the problem is it’s out of sight.”

He said the long-term effects were poorly understood, but appeared to be lasting.

“When they did seismic testing off Lakes Entrance 30 or 40 years ago, it was the most productive scallop grounds in the world. There hasn’t been a scallop there for 30 or 40 years.”

The inquiry will hold further public hearings in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia.