As soon as June 1st, Rutgers University intends to begin a
seismic study approximately 15 miles off of the coast of Long Beach Island, New
Jersey. The study has been approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS), which has permitted the “takings” of 18,457
marine mammals—
26 times
more mammals than originally proposed — during the 30-day research period
so long as these incidents are classified as “Level B Harassment” under the
Marine Mammal Protection Act.
However, there is no scientific way to observe and assess all of the physical
and physiological damage done to the populations of marine mammals to ensure
that these damages do not surpass Level B Harassment into Level A Harassment.
According to the MMPA, Level B Harassment is defined as “any
act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which has the potential to disturb a
marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns
including, but not limited to,
migration,
breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, and
sheltering, but which does not have the potential to injure a
marine mammal stock in the wild.” This means the marine mammals that frequent
waters off of the New Jersey coast this time of year will experience meaningful
disruption to “biologically significant” activities, including, but not
limited to, migration, breeding, care of young, predator avoidance or defense,
and feeding.
“Biologically significant” can be widely interpreted, but would
encompass anything that affects the ability of an animal to grow, survive, and
reproduce. Essentially, NMFS has given Rutgers the approval to cause harm to
marine mammals off of the New Jersey coast so long as it does not harm enough
of the population to cause what they would consider a steep decline in their
numbers. In a few cases, the mammals they have permitted takings of are
already on the endangered species list,
such as
Sei Whales and
North
Atlantic Right Whales,
just to
name a few. Their identification as endangered means that these species have
been categorized by the International Union for Conservation as
likely to become extinct, meaning that
they are second only to the most severe conservation status, “critically
endangered.”
The takings have been termed “insignificant” by NMFS, but
the numbers that were approved tell a different story. NMFS has authorized the
take of five Sei whales, which would make up nearly 1.5% of the mammal’s stock.
This number might not seem significant at first, but when you consider the Sei
whale’s current status as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, this
number is appalling. Harm to even one
animal that has been identified as endangered can negatively impact the
longevity of its entire population worldwide.
Approved
Dolphin Takes and Overall Impact on Species Population
|
Species
|
Authorized Take
|
Percent of Species Stock
|
Bottlenose dolphins
|
12,532
|
16.16
|
Atlantic spotted dolphins
|
4,067
|
18.19
|
Risso’s dolphins
|
1,532
|
16.79
|
While the above table only shows the population and take
numbers of three dolphin species, there are
29 more species that will be harmed, totaling 18,457 marine mammals
including those dolphin species. While
the authorized torment of over 18,131 dolphins alone is unconscionable, this
number becomes even more substantial when considering the recent morbillovirus
that decimated bottlenose dolphin populations in the Atlantic, killing
1,660
dolphins between 2013 and 2015 alone. These dolphin populations, already in
decline due to the devastating virus, will be put even more at risk after being
subjected to unnecessary and inescapable airgun blasts during their peak mating
season. The approved harassment numbers only get worse from there. The warm
summer months are peak migration and mating times for marine mammals off of the
coast of New Jersey, meaning that their populations will be even more heavily
impacted than they would if these studies were conducted in the cooler winter
months.
Allowing for the harm, harassment, or torment of 18,457 marine mammals, 26 times more than proposed
last year, is inexcusable. Please
call or email Rutgers University President Barchi urging him to cancel the
seismic study to avoid harm to marine mammals during peak summer months for
migration and breeding.
Call: 848-932-7454
Join close to 20,000 concerned citizens opposing Rutgers Ocean blasting - sign our petition today!
