On June 6, 2017, a federal agency
(National Marine Fisheries Services/NMFS) announced its review of five
corporations’ requests to conduct seismic testing (aka Ocean Blasting) in the
Atlantic. This action, a direct result of the Trump Administration’s America-First
Offshore Energy Strategy, is the first step toward offshore drilling for
oil and gas.
The notice included five
separate Intentional Harassment Authorizations (IHA), which would allow five
corporations hired by the oil and gas industry to intentionally blast over
138,000 marine mammals. The applications do not consider the impact of overlapping,
concurrent blasting on marine life, nor do they mention the many fish and invertebrate
species that will be shocked, stunned and possibly killed by the blasts.
Organizations up and down the
coast have responded immediately by drafting comments and empowering citizens
to show the federal government their strong, united opposition to these
authorizations and their complete opposition to the fast-tracking of offshore
drilling in general. Currently, 125 east
coast municipalities, over 1,200 elected officials and an alliance representing
over 41,000 businesses and 500,000 fishing families, have come out as publicly
opposed to seismic airgun blasting and/or offshore drilling. The opposition is
great, yet the fight is not over. Stay tuned for more information. To submit
your comments and voices in opposition, go to COA’s website today. The public
comment period ends July 6! Update: The public comment period has been extended and now ends Friday, July 21!
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