Maritime activists in the Eastern Cape have expressed anger after Shell announced it would launch a three-dimensional seismic survey looking for oil and gas fields from Morgan Bay to Port St Johns from December 1.

Shell commissioned Shearwater GeoServices to carry out the study, which will take four to five months and will cover 6,011 km² of ocean surface. The study area is located more than 20 km from the coast, with its closest point at water depths between 700 m and 3 km.

In an attempt to stop the investigation, the Oceans Not Oil coalition has launched a petition to Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy, asking her to withdraw approval of the request.

The petition had nearly 13,000 signatures on Tuesday.

Oceans Not Oil founder Janet Solomon said many sea creatures could be affected by the investigation.

“At a time when world leaders are making promises and decisions to move away from fossil fuels because climate science has shown that we cannot burn our existing reserves, offshore oil and gas [exploration programme] Operation Phakisa is pushing harder and harder to get its hands on a local gas supply, ”she said.

Masifundise Development Trust program manager Carmen Mannarino said she was concerned about the impact the survey will have on the ecosystem and livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities in the region.

“As we’ve seen in other parts of the country and around the world, these types of activities can be very disruptive to marine life and alter the migration and movement patterns of fish species. This leads to fishing communities not having the same access and reducing harvests, ”Mannarino said.

“Eastern Cape fishing communities have fought for decades for recognition and for fishing rights, only to see their natural resources sold in the name of extractive profit. ”

Coastal Links Eastern Cape chairman Ntsindiso Nongcavu said the investigation came as a shock to them as Port St Johns fishermen.

“It’s going to kill our businesses because you can’t open a mine where there is fishing. Our government does not want to listen to people and ask what kind of development they need in this area; instead, they are used by businesses, ”he said.

The decision was made without considering the environmental effects of the seismic survey, he said.

“In Richards Bay, about 34 whales died when that same survey was done there. What concerns me is that there are other species here such as crayfish and other species of fish that we fishermen live on. ”

Nongcavu said they will mobilize communities to oppose the investigation.

“We are totally against drilling for oil and gas in the ocean. How will this help communities in the region? ”

Nongcavu said it was shocking that Creecy allowed this after recently issuing fishing licenses to them.

“Where does she think we go fishing when they allow it?” ”

He said there had been no public participation.

Museum of East London scientist Kevin Cole said seismic studies produce continuous underwater noise (over 230 decibels using a set of air cannons) day and night during months and that it will negatively impact evolved marine life to rely on sound as the primary sense in the dark ocean environment.

“Marine animals are very sensitive to acoustic sound. Fish and marine mammals depend on sound to communicate with group members and young people, find food, reproduce, avoid predators and dangers, navigate and sense their environment, ”he said.

Cole said there is no basic research into the effects that seismic surveys will have on this particular marine environment, and that seismic surveys in general are known to have the following effects on marine life:

• Physical – causing embolism and tissue damage, and temporary or permanent hearing loss.
• Stress – causing changes in the physiology of the body that can affect growth and reproduction and lead to death.
• Behavioral changes – in cetaceans (dolphins, whales and porpoises), they involve a change in dive times and time spent on the surface and loss of energy due to traveling great distances away from disturbing sounds . Foraging and breastfeeding can also be affected. Cetacean calves separated from their mothers due to high noise levels would be unable to suckle.

Cole said that although it is proposed that these surveys take place outside of the migratory season (May to November) for more important species such as humpback and southern right whales, semi-migratory and d Other species, such as the deep-nosed beaked whales, Bryde’s whales and sperm whales, will be in the area during the survey period (December to April).

“One of the beaked whales, called True, has never been seen alive at sea – they are only known from strandings in our area, so we have no clear understanding of their distribution, their abundance and their behavior, ”he said.

He said deep-diving beaked whales could surface too quickly and die of barotrauma from a seismic explosion.

“South Africa does not have an environmental management plan that considers an ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAF). EAF is promoted by fishery scientists in South Africa, ”said Cole.

He said South Africa does not have a national guidance document related specifically to carrying out seismic studies in South African waters.

The Marine Living Resources Act 1998 does not specifically refer to seismic considerations in the protection of marine mammals. It was suggested that a marine mammal plan be drafted to guide environmental management plans for potentially damaging activities in the oceans, including seismic surveys.

“Research should be undertaken to determine the areas [in the proposed survey range] that provide potential critical habitats year round for endangered marine species, including major fish species. This will require the collection of baseline ecological data – taking into account an ecosystem approach of the entire area in question, ”said Cole.

He said a summary of this information should be filed before an exploration permit is considered.

“Assessments of marine fauna or autonomous fisheries normally included as part of an environmental management plan for an exploration license will not suffice as they are only assessments and do not consider the ecosystem as a whole.” Cole added.

He said that because many marine animals use sound as their primary tool to navigate, communicate, and orient themselves in the relatively dark sea environment, anthropogenic noise (like seismic surveys) will negatively affect marine animals by interfering with with important aspects of their life. such as foraging, schooling and migration, mating (masking mating calls), and disruption of return or orientation.

“Noise pollution is on the rise in South Africa. The development of the oceans / blue economy is supported by initiatives without adequate environmental checks and balances in place, which will have a serious impact on marine species and marine ecosystems. Marine noise pollution (including ship noise) is currently under-researched and unregulated in South Africa – this is cause for concern. “

Pam Ntaka, spokesperson for Shell Downstream South Africa, said that a full process of stakeholder consultation was undertaken in 2013 as part of the development of the environmental management program.

“The consultation process complied with the requirements of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and the guidelines of the environmental management program under the National Environmental Management Act.

“A stakeholder database was compiled by an independent environmental practitioner, which included government authorities (local and regional), non-governmental organizations, community organizations and industry groups, including the the Peach.

Ntaka said advertisements were placed in the media informing the general public of the proposed exploration activities and inviting them to contribute to the environmental management program process.

“A series of face-to-face engagements took place which included three group meetings in Gqeberha, East London and Port St Johns.”

Ntaka said it obtained environmental clearance for the project in 2014. The environmental compliance audit was carried out by an independent specialist in 2020 and was approved by the government in July 2020.

Ntaka added that a significant amount of research has been carried out globally on seismic studies and their impact on the marine environment.

“The impacts are well understood and mitigated when carrying out seismic surveys. This is supported by decades of scientific research and the establishment of international best practice guidelines. ”

She said there is no indication that the seismic surveys are related to the strandings.

“This can be verified by environmental specialists and the results of autopsy results on stranded whales and dolphins along the South African coast.”

Ntaka said Shell adopts the strictest controls and follows international best practice guidelines from the Joint Committee for Nature Conservation for conducting seismic operations.

“This, combined with the mitigation measures outlined in the environmental management program, ensures that we conduct seismic surveys safely with respect to marine animals and the environment. ”

She said the mitigation measures include a 500m exclusion zone around the sound source which is monitored 24 hours a day by independent marine mammal observers aboard the seismic vessel.

“The exclusion zone around the sound source ensures that no animals will enter the immediate vicinity of the sound source.”

Ntaka said if an animal enters the exclusion zone, operations are immediately stopped.

“A pre-surveillance must be carried out for at least 60 minutes to confirm that there are no marine animals in the exclusion zone before operations can begin.”

The Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Fisheries did not respond to questions sent to them Thursday last week. DM / OBP

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