Inuit try to stop seismic

An Inuit village in Canada’s Nunavut Territory is asking a federal court to stall regulatory approval of seismic exploration by a Norwegian consortium in Davis Strait between Baffin Island and Greenland.

Clyde River, a community of about 1,000, said it is concerned about the impact on marine mammals and fish of the 2-D survey program over five years of open water testing.

The Baffin Mayors Forum, representing all communities on the island, and the Nunavut Marine Council agree the tests should be stopped until the Canadian government completes an environmental assessment.

They are joined by 44 non-governmental groups and individuals, including Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and Amnesty International, along with a number of faith-based groups.

The National Energy Board, which conducted the most comprehensive hearings into a geophysical application in its history, approved the survey by TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company, Petroleum GeoServices and Multi Klient Invest.

That decision last June came with a number of conditions including a requirement to have a marine mammal observer on the seismic vessel, with the authority to stop testing of an animal was spotted within 500 meters. Scientists have argued that 80 percent of whales in an area could easily be missed by an observer.

Clyde River Mayor Jerry Natanine said his community does not oppose development, but it wants to know more about possible consequences and a better chance to benefit from the resources under its waters.

He said Clyde River initially viewed the program as an “opportunity ... as things went on we started realizing that the (consortium) just wanted to get what they want and then leave. We’re not in support of that.”

United Kingdom-based Cairn Energy has plugged and abandoned five wells on the Greenland side of Davis Strait and in Baffin Bay as part of a US$1 billion program.

- Gary Park