Beaufort Sea exploration could harm bowhead whales, residents worry

Residents in the western Arctic say they worry that a proposed seismic exploration project in the Beaufort Sea could scare away bowhead whales.

The seismic exploration project is part of a plan by Imperial Oil Ltd. and ExxonMobil Canada to look for oil and gas in 205,000 hectares of Arctic sea floor, an area where some bowhead whales feed.

The two companies won an exploration licence from the federal government in July, after agreeing to spend $585 million on the project.

Air guns on the seismic ships would fire blasts of air into the ocean. The ships would drag six-kilometre long cables to collect the sound. Butscientists and local Inuvialuit residents fear the noise could scare whales away.

At a meeting in Inuvik, N.W.T., Wednesday evening, representatives from both companies said they will work with regulators and Inuvialuit to ensure their work does not harm the bowheads.

"There'd be marine mammal observers on board the vessel to keep a watch," Glen McCrimmon, who is with Imperial Oil, said at the meeting.

"If there are any whales spotted within the distance of that safety radius, then the sound source would be shut down."

But Roy Ipana, a member of Inuvik's hunters and trappers committee, warned that poor weather can easily prevent observers from spotting whales.

"When it gets foggy sometimes, the fog comes right down to the water. And you know, sometimes production overrides sensibility," Ipana said.

"You're going to get pressure to do what you have to do from somewhere. I wanted to make sure that they know our environment is more important than production."

Other people at the meeting suggested the seismic boats should use underwater microphones to detect the whales. McCrimmon said Imperial will consider the idea before submitting its proposal in February for environmental review.

The latestfigures show about 11,000 bowhead whales in the western Arctic an improvement from the early 1900s, when the species was nearly extinct.

The federal government is considering listing the bowheads as a species of special concern under its Species at Risk Act.