Seismic Testing - Background and Update
Rutgers University and a few other universities have received funding from the National Science Foundation to conduct seismic ocean blasting tests about 20 miles east from the Barnegat Inlet in a 230 square mile area as part of a climate change study. The stated purpose of this testing is to assess deep-sea sediment from 60 million years ago to better understand climate change! (Maybe looking for oil too?) Ships will blast sound waves louder than a jet taking off (230 decibels) every 5 seconds continuously for about a month. Loud sound waves like that cannot have a positive effect on sea life, especially like whales and dolphins that are known to emit their own sounds. Our fishing season can be disrupted since these sound blasts can move them away from their usual fishing locations. Last year, in spite of protests from our state's DEP, the Jersey Coast Anglers Association (JCAA), the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance (NJOA), Clean Ocean Action and other groups, this testing began in July 2014. However, it had to be stopped after only several days because the ship doing the blasting ran into mechanical problems.
On June 1st of this year, this testing started again. The same groups who tried to stop it last year tried to stop it again. I and JCAA's Paul Turi have attended meetings, been on conference calls and talked to various groups, but our attempts to stop this testing seem to be of no avail. Our state DEP Commissioner, Bob Martin, said at a recent NJOA meeting that his office tried to reach out to federal management agencies to stop this testing, but they will not talk to him or return any of his calls. Just plain and simple arrogance! The prestigious law firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer is filing a court action on behalf of JCAA, the NJOA, the RFA and the Garden State Seafood Association. At the time of this writing, this firm will file a Public Nuisance claim through our state's court system by June 22nd or June 23rd. This law firm wanted to make a stronger case that this blasting is causing "irreparable damage," but this is very hard to prove since the court will ask questions such as how many fish, whales or dolphins, etc., have been killed? Have you seen them floating on the water? Has fishing stopped completely in the affected areas?
It's hard to quantify and provide proof of the economic losses that may be claimed by commercial and recreational businesses. Existing studies that point to damages caused by this blasting can be entered into court, but they do not constitute immediate and irreparable damage that this law firm will be trying to convince the court to stop this testing immediately. Damages caused by seismic testing may occur months or years from now, but the courts want to see it NOW and not later.
