Taking Seismic to the City
April 16, 2021
On March 19th 2021 OCEAN (Otway Climate Emergency Action Network) and Apollo Bay Lobster Fishermen protested against Seismic Testing at the doors of NOPSEMA’s Melbourne Office (National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority). The small crowd of approx. 100 locals then Marched down Bourke street to Parliament steps. The event was named “Taking Seismic to the City” because the people of Apollo Bay believe that if people in the cities knew about seismic testing and the devastating effects on marine life they would oppose it very strongly.
We have a short film capturing our demonstration in Melbourne on the 19th of March. Please share this with any or all of your contacts so we can get the word out about the devastating impact of seismic testing.
The film is available at www.ocean.org.au or on Dropbox.
OCEAN and Apollo Bay Fishers are grateful for all the support they received from Apollo Bay locals, Friends of the Earth, Front Line Action on Coal and especially Jackson Hayat Films.
What is Seismic Testing?
Seismic testing is the process of locating gas and oil deposits deep beneath the ocean floor. This is done by trailing an air gun off the back of a boat, which sends out sonic blasts 24 hours a day, every 10 seconds, at up to 256 decibels for months at a time. To give perspective, a jet engine at 50m is 140 decibels, so it’s no longer a sound than human ears can hear, its more of a burst of energy so powerful that it kills and causes permanent and significant damage to many species of marine life. The full extent of the damage done is not known and that suits the gas and oil industries and NOPSEMA the government authority, very nicely.
What can I do about seismic testing?
Write to state and federal energy and environment ministers to express your concern (templates available on our website)
Angus Taylor (Energy AUS) -
Sussan Ley (Environment AUS) -
Lily D’Ambrosio (Environment VIC) -
Jacyln Symes (Resources VIC) -
Contact OCEAN to get involved and see more here.
oceanclimatenetwork (at) gmail (.) com 0456 931 323
An informed and motivated Otways Community taking bold and effective action for climate justice by protecting our coast and country from the threat of unsustainable development.