The Standard (Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia), July 20, 2007

SEISMIC TEST BAN CALL

[Rachel's introduction: "We should really give whales the benefit of the doubt and take greater care of them, including timing (testing) so it won't have any impact," Councillor Ermacora said.]

By Shane Fowles

Seismic testing should be banned from Logans Beach around key calving times, according to a Warrnambool councillor.

Cr [Councillor] Jacinta Ermacora called for stricter controls on offshore seismic exploration following a lack of southern right whales at the key habitat this season.

Their absence heightened speculation about the effects of seismic testing, with Santos exploring as close as 14 kilometres off the coast in May and June. Cr Ermacora called for the precautionary principle to be used while scientific data on the issue was inconclusive.

"We should really give whales the benefit of the doubt and take greater care of them, including timing (testing) so it won't have any impact," Cr Ermacora said.

"It makes sense from a planning perspective...to check the testing against environmental, heritage and safety concerns. We have to be responsible in all our actions in relation to the whales _ particularly now the council has a provision to protect them."

Santos has argued there was no proof seismic testing affected whales and work halted immediately if any were seen in the area.

However, with no sightings of the threatened species this year, the city council resolved to examine the limited research on the subject.

"The whales add a valuable dimension in attracting tourists to Warrnambool," economic development director Bill Millard said.

"If any external impacts has the potential to jeopardise it, we should develop our own views on that."

Cr Ermacora's call came as the Federal Government improved guidelines for protecting whales in areas of gas and oil exploration.

A key plank of the new policy backed her recommendation to plan seismic operations around important areas, like Logans Beach.

"In these biologically important habitats operators are encouraged to operate at times of year that will avoid overlap with the presence of whales," it reads. The revised guidelines also indicated baleen whales, like the southern right species, were likely to be sensitive to sounds generated by seismic testing.

However, the extremely limited data did not allow easy conclusions to be drawn, with no research at all done on the impact on southern rights.

A typical seismic survey may involve many hundred thousand signals spread during several weeks of parallel passes.