How Do Seismic Surveys Affect Whales?
Last week in Nunavut, a judge halted plans for a seismic survey in Nunavut’s Lancaster Sound after local Inuit argued they weren’t consulted and that the project could harm marine mammals. Well, a few weeks ago some seismic work began in the Beaufort Delta. GX Technology will be firing loud airguns into the water to collect information about what’s under the sea floor. The work is being done five kilomtres from beluga feeding habitat and near bowhead whale migration routes. After placing certain restrictions on the project, the Inuvialuit Environmental Impact Screening Committee approved it. To explain how this kind of work can affect animals, we reached Steve Maclean. He’s a biologist who has worked on seismic ships in the American Beaufort Sea and he now manages the Nature Conservancy’s Bering Sea Program in Anchorage, Alaska. Joslyn spoke with him Friday.
