Yesterday Oceana and its supporters braved foul weather to
protest a truly foul idea. Armed with airhorns and megaphones
they gave the Department of the Interior (DOI) a tiny preview of
what is in store for the ocean’s inhabitants should the
Department allow seismic airgun testing to go forward in the
Atlantic Ocean. The DOI is currently reviewing a proposal to use
seismic airguns to search for pockets of oil and gas in a huge
expanse of ocean from Delaware to Florida. The effects of these
round-the-clock tests, which will run for days on end with
dynamite-like blasts firing at 10 second intervals, will be
devastating to marine mammals and fish alike. As Oceana marine
scientist Matthew Huelsenbeck said at the event: “There is only
one word that I can use that sums up this proposal:
unacceptable. The levels of impacts to protected dolphins and
whales, including critically endangered species like the North
Atlantic right whale are simply unacceptable.” According to the
Department of the Interior’s own assessmen