Citizen science protects little penguins from Otway seismic blasts

Two years ago, when the multinational Geotech Company CGG*planned to explode the ocean near his home in Port Fair, the self -defining mother and music teacher Carli Reeve began to investigate what it could mean for the colonies of the small penguins living on the southwest coast of Victoria.

The CGG recommends conducting a 60 -day seismic test for three months, covers the 2,750km ocean between port fairy and port Campbell, pressure air explosions up to 250DB – nuclear bomb explosion – in a nuclear bomb explosion – in the world of nuclear bombs – every 10 to 15 seconds, in every 10 to 15 seconds, under the sea house.

Reeve, who is concerned about the lack of research or data in the small penguin populations of the region, gathered everything from local Penguin protection groups and made a presentation that could not define and evaluate five of the seven reproductive colony that limits CGG’s offer. This surveillance was indicated by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Institution (Nopsema) in one of the two decisions to delay approval for environmental reasons.

On June 20, the survey proposal was sent back to the CCG for the third time after being able to meet environmental requirements. Crirase And Citizen And he learned about the concerns of the company’s influence on whales and small penguins of the explosions of Nopsema’s latest letter references.

Environmental groups and activists are relieved and the decision of the CGG’s plan to start the survey in September. Nopsema asked the company to send a modified plan by 18 September, but CGG can apply for more time. The next potential start will be on April 2026.

“This rejection is now a reprieve of the Otway basin for now, Lisa said Lisa Depeler, the founder of the coastal environment (Ocean), the founder of the Coastal Action Network (OCEAN).

“The increasing awareness and examination of this proposal by environmental groups and volunteers revealed Nopsema and the seismic explosion application.

CGG said that it would change and send the environmental plan and re -send it, and that it has published comprehensive assessment reports on the effects of sound on small penguins to “create confidence and transparency”. It can be found open to everyone in a document library.

Most of Nopsema’s concerns, CGG’s environmental plan, is a consulting consultancy, Matt Smith, General Manager of Clarite, is about our etimeizizizizizing activity to identify marine mammals, especially the southern rights and blue whales ”. The survey area includes single calf floors for Eastern Australia’s extinct southern right whale, as well as waters near Warrnambool.

Understanding seismic explosions

Seismic surveys – the first step in open marine oil and gas research – has been in the Australian waters for decades, and the industry has been recorded for about 2,000 surveys since the 1960s. But 2021 Senate Investigation, Waves“Australian government, seismic tests, short -term, long -term and cumulative effects of seismic tests on the sea environment, additional research to examine the significantly finance, gaps in the scientific understanding found gaps in scientific understanding.

While the suggestions of this investigation are standing, Carli Reeve is part of a base movement that asks questions about the environmental effects of seismic surveys and asks for a call of a national morarator. Last September, the largest seismic test survey plans in the history of Australia abandoned Two revision demands of the community groups such as Ocean on the southwest coast of Victoria and Nopsema.

Before becoming a music teacher, Western Victoria’s scientific teacher draws to build the understanding and awareness of small penguins – Reveve, a science teacher now, says, “He doesn’t even know what the seismic explosion is,” he says.

“The more we look at CGG’s environmental plan, the more we find more problems and concerns for different sea species. Sismic explosion is a destructive and destructive stress for all kinds of sea creatures. Little penguins are one of them.”

The CGG’s proposed survey area intersects with water within 30 km from all seven colonies, and the intention of operating between September and November will fall into the heart of Penguins’ reproductive season. Until April next year, a delay is also taking risks with its potential reproductive activity in June.

The only work up to date African penguins examining the effect of seismic explosion on the penguins – Australian cousins ​​more than twice – avoiding noise, changing the feeding patterns, and when seismic activity occurred within 100 km, he found away from their colonies.

The CGG Environmental Plan states that these penguins quickly return to normal feeding behaviors after seismic activity stopped, and this suggests that “seismic activity is a relatively short -term effect on the behavior of these birds’ behavior and/or prey”.

“But in the life of a penguin chick in a penguin chick… You need only a few days without feeding, and you are filled,” he says.

He argued that his presentation, disruptions in hunting, narrowing of feeding zones, increasing competition and higher energy demands due to seismic activity may have unknown stroke effects. They will potentially combine existing environmental pressures and threaten the long -term survival of both chicks and parents.

Responding to Reeve’s report, CGG wrote that these concerns are based on “speculation and opinion olmayan which is not supported by scientific evidence.

However, in February this year, Nopsema asked the CGG to revise the plan of Partly in the light of Reeve’s concerns, and that the effect assessment did not show that small penguins were thoroughly evaluated to the size of the effects and risks caused by activity ”.

According to Reeve, CGG’s refutation goes to the heart of deeper worries.

“The lack of published scientific research that damages penguins from seismic explosion is not a green light to continue,” he says. “Yes, it happened in the past, but no one actually sees what the effect is.”

The sense reflects an important theme of the 19 proposals of the 2021 Senate investigation, which has recently renewed pressure from the environmental groups, and the 2021 Senate investigation, which has been shelved around the gaps in science that reappeared among some federal deputies. A national moorum on seismic explosion until the investigation is discussed.

Louise Morris, Fossil Fuel Campaign Manager of Australian Naval Conservation Association (AMCs), says, “We need to put this government into force to bring this government together to bring this government together and our science.”

Morris is concerned about the expansion approval of Woodsyide’s North West Raf Gas Facility by 2070 and what it can point for. Future gas expansion to the eye basin In the northwest of Broome, he underlines the urgency of that moment.

“The eye project proposes to explode seismic as a part of the exploration to drill 50 gas wells near the dwarf blue whale feeding areas of the gas project, Mor says Morris.

“Until you understand how bad this is, we have to stop doing it.”

*In 2024, the French -based Multinational CGG, which was re -branded as Viridien, continued only with Western Victoria presentations and communication with stakeholders and continued under the old name Cirikey held for consistency.

This article is written with The Citizen, a publication of the Journalism Development Center.