IWC Calls for Reduced Oil Industry Air Gun Impact
Date: 20-Jun-06
Country: SAINT KITTS and NEVIS
The International Whaling Commission, or IWC, acknowledged that the air guns were a threat to whales, dolphins, squid and other species in the world's oceans, and called for more research and for "mitigation" procedures to be developed.
The guns, which are increasingly being used to map potential oil and gas deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, Australia's Northwest Shelf and elsewhere, were found to damage hearing, migratory patterns and to reduce fish catches.
"The idea that sound-sensitive species can co-exist with this is simply incredible," said Joel Reynolds of the Natural Resources Defense Council, lauding the step taken by the IWC.
He said the noise generated was so explosive that the sound of an air gun used off the coast of California traveled all the way to Asia.
The report and recommendations on air guns from the IWC's scientific committee were unanimously endorsed at the commission's annual meeting taking place in the Caribbean island state of St. Kitts and Nevis.
A spokesman for US oil major Exxon Mobil Corp., which is represented at the IWC, was not immediately available to comment.
