Good news but only a postponement

[Fish_Harder]

Seismic blast testing of the ocean floor off the coast of New Jersey has been postponed for at least a year because of equipment problems on the ship that was set to start the work this summer, officials said today.

While this wasn’t the abandonment of the Rutgers University-led project that environmentalists and other opponents had hoped for, they said they’ll use this hiatus to put an end to testing they said was sure to be harmful to marine life.

Maria Zacharias, a spokeswoman for the National Science Foundation, the organization funding the testing, said the work was scheduled to begin on July 1 after the environmental compliance process was completed.

“Unfortunately, the ship encountered equipment problems and the length of time requiring repairs has led to postponing the research cruise,” Zacharias said. “The research efforts are expected to be rescheduled during approximately the same time next year.”

Rutgers officials have said the study, which also includes Columbia University and the University of Texas, is designed to use blasts of air to create 3-D images to determine what is beneath the ocean floor. Researchers planned to work some 15 miles southeast of Barnegat Inlet.

Environmental groups have argued the testing would harm marine life and could lead to offshore drilling for oil or natural gas, further threatening the coast and the economy of the Jersey Shore.

After the research vessel, the Marcus G. Langseth, sat at a Brooklyn dock in need of repairs for almost two weeks, Clean Ocean Action, a coalition of environmental organizations, sent a letter on Friday asking Rutgers President Robert Barchi to end the survey. They said the ship couldn’t meet the Aug. 17 deadline to conduct the 30 days of testing.

Carl Blesch, a spokesman for Rutgers said the testing is delayed but not cancelled.

“This is a National Science Foundation initiative and it’s our understanding that the NSF will reschedule this research,” he said.

Opponents said they were angered over the lack of notice about the planned work or the opportunity for public comment.

“All is quiet on the oceanfront for the rest of the summer which will be great for the marine life and commercial and recreational fishermen,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action. “We were all blind-sided by this activity.”

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, called the postponement a “victory” and said it will give environmental groups a chance to fight the testing by convincing government officials that it’s not a good idea.

“The fact that there will not be any seismic testing this year off our coast will help protect our coast and marine life for at least this summer,” Tittel said. “This will also give us a year to build a grassroots campaign that will educate government officials and to stop this from happening next summer.”

[SaltLife1980]

Hope they never start!

[dfish28]

I guess the few dolphins and turtles they saw floating when they started was enough " food for thought" ...do it in the winter ... "Edited multiple profanities"...!!! It's like racing a pro am while having a 5k at the same time... on the same road