BARNEGAT LIGHT, N.J. — New Jersey environmental officials will seek a court order blocking a plan to carry out seismic research by blasting the ocean floor with sound waves.
The state Department of Environmental Protection told The Associated Press the department will seek an injunction Thursday in federal court to block the plan, which opponents say could harm or kill whales, dolphins and other marine life.
Environmentalists, fishing groups and elected officials gathered Wednesday to oppose the plan by Rutgers University, the University of Texas and the National Science Foundation for research on sediments deposited on the ocean floor by changing global sea levels dating back 60 million years.
Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, which has led the fight against the proposal, said the approach of Tropical Storm Arthur is a metaphorical warning against the plan.
“I have to think that the ocean is sending these people a message by brewing up a storm that’s going to rock that boat and show that the ocean is mad as hell about this,” she said. “This study will blast the ocean with sound waves that are orders of magnitude louder than anything humans have ever heard, every five seconds, 24 hours a day, for 30 days. To think that won’t cause profound harm to marine life and to the industries that depend on the ocean is outrageous and appalling.”
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration issued a permit Tuesday allowing marine animals to be disturbed as part of the research. The National Science Foundation still needs to issue a final environmental assessment and a decision document that addresses whether the research is authorized to go forward.
NOAA spokeswoman Connie Barclay said the agency acted after extensive scientific review of the plan, and adopted mitigation measures.
Some environmental groups also believe the research could be used to probe for undersea oil and gas deposits.
Kirk Larson, the mayor of Barnegat Light and a commercial scallop fisherman, noted an irony in strict federal regulations that require fishermen to avoid scooping turtles up in their nets.
“They make us bend over backward not to harm turtles,” he said. “And they let these groups just go out there and blast away.”
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.