Oil and gas drilling off South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal coast could have a far-reaching impact on the province’s marine environment.
Earlier this year, US-based company Schlumberger was granted a licence by the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (Pasa) to conduct a 3D seismic survey to determine if there was oil in South Africa’s waters. The survey started in February and only ended in June, at the height of the whale migration.
A spokesperson for the Sharks Board in KZN told Tourism Update that the seismic shock waves that are sent out to locate possible oil and gas sources, could damage the hearing of marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins.
“It’s problematic that the Schlumberger Survey took place during the whale migration,” adds Desmond D’Sa, of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance. He says surveys like these can destroy marine life and, as a result, have a negative impact on tourism.
Research conducted in Denmark, Finland and Norway shows that seismic surveys have an effect on marine mammals as far as their migration and breeding patterns are concerned, according to Dannie Bennett from Advantage Charters. “In short, if the exploration continues and it comes to offshore drilling, there will be an effect on the migration of these animals.
Bennett adds that the St Lucia area is also a mating and calving area. “As far as tourism, if the migration is affected then so will tourism, for the two are linked. No whales no tourists,” he says.
