Western Australia’s EPA has opened a public consultation on whether or not to assess a plan to seismic blast in waters off the coast of Dongara to search for new fossil gas reserves.
Pilot Energy wants to blast in an area almost one thousand square kilometres wide — attracting serious concern from fishers and community members in the Mid West.
Following an approval from the federal government late last year, CCWA referred the project to the EPA, resulting in the current public comment period.
We believe the proposal poses unassessed risks to species such as demersal scalefish, including dhufish and snapper.
The WA government has recently announced a ban on demersal fishing — but to protect these species properly, it can't ignore the impacts of the gas industry’s destructive seismic blasting.
The public comment window closes on Thursday 12 March.
Make a Submission Now
In your comment, you should recommend that the proposal does need further assessment due to its potential significant impacts. (Please select ‘yes’ for question 5 in the ‘comment on referral form.)
You should also recommend that the EPA does provide further opportunities for public review. (Please select ‘yes’ for question 6 in the ‘comment on referral form.)
Key points to make in your comment on question 7 could include:
- While the project may be situated in Commonwealth waters, there will be significant impacts to state waters, environmentally important fauna, and areas of environmental significance.
- The proposed seismic survey could affect a large stretch of WA’s coastline that includes important marine parks and protected areas such as the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Jurien Bay Marine Park, Marmion Marine Park, Rottnest Island and Shoalwater Islands Marine Park.
- These ecosystems that could be impacted by the seismic blasting support coral reefs, sea lions, whales and valuable fisheries.
- Seismic blasting in this region could add pressure to already stressed marine ecosystems and threaten the environmental and social values that surrounding protected areas were established to safeguard.
- The survey is planned for February–March — a time when many marine species are breeding, spawning or migrating. Species at risk from the proposal include Australian sea lions, multiple fish species, seabirds and coral.
- For marine animals, survey noise can disrupt feeding and breeding behaviour, damage hearing and interfere with communication, increasing the risk of impacts during these biologically sensitive periods.
- Key west coast demersal fish species such as WA dhufish and pink snapper are already at severe risk due to declining populations. The WA government has introduced major fishing restrictions to help these species recover. However, the proposed seismic survey could overlap with important spawning and nursery areas, adding further pressure to fish populations that are already under significant stress.
- There is still limited scientific understanding of the full impacts of seismic surveys on marine ecosystems. Many long-term and ecosystem-wide impacts remain poorly understood. Given these uncertainties, further environmental assessment is needed to properly evaluate the risks before the project proceeds.
Read our Media Statement here.