Environmental groups seek to prevent Columbia University from conducting seismic tests off Vancouver Island

VANCOUVER — From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail

A Federal Court judge in Vancouver will hear arguments tomorrow from environmental groups that have taken an American university and the Canadian government to court over a U.S. research project that plans to conduct seismic tests in a marine protected area.

Living Oceans Society, in partnership with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, launched the lawsuit against the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Minister of Foreign Affairs and New York’s Columbia University, seeking a court order preventing the federal government from issuing a clearance to the researchers to enter the protected area.

The Federal Court will hear from lawyers representing the environmental groups and from Columbia University to determine whether it has jurisdiction.

Owned by the U.S. government and operated by the university, the research vessel Marcus G. Langseth is scheduled to start seismic testing in the Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents Marine Protected Area, 250 kilometres southwest of Vancouver Island, on Friday. The researchers have asked the Canadian government for access to the area, a habitat for blue whales, fin whales, and other marine life.

But Ecojustice, a non-profit organization representing Living Oceans and Canadian Parks and Wilderness, filed a lawsuit claiming that Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs cannot grant clearance to a foreign vessel that is expected to harass marine mammals in violation of Canadian law. “The law says that any non-conservation research is illegal if it disturbs the area,” said Lara Tessaro, a lawyer for Ecojustice.

Alain Cacchione, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs, said that since the matter is before the courts, he can’t comment.

In a written statement, Columbia University said the purpose of the research is to learn how the structure and changes to the ocean floor lead to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions that threaten safety and lives in the Pacific Northwest.

“Scientists from University of Oregon and University of Washington plan to use low-frequency sound waves to create an image of Earth’s crust to study the ocean floor,” Clare Oh, a spokesperson for Columbia University, said in the statement.

But environmentalists are opposed to the idea. Ms. Wright said seismic testing is known to cause hearing loss and behavioural disturbances in whales. She said Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents was created as a protected area to safeguard the animals. “It’s a sanctuary for animals to escape the harassment they receive elsewhere in the ocean from humans,” she said.

U.S. researchers said the safety of marine mammals was a key part of their planning process – the crew includes three trained observers hired specifically to monitor a 1,220-metre exclusion zone for 60 minutes before and during each seismic session.

The lead researcher on the project, University of Oregon professor Doug Toomey, said in a statement e-mailed to The Globe and Mail: “If any mammals or other sea life whose presence creates a danger are spotted within or approaching the exclusion zone, then operations must be and shall be immediately shut down until observers are able to confirm the safety zone is again clear.”
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