Evaluation of the potential impacts of seismic surveys on the behaviour and auditory physiology of fish in the Mackenzie River

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area

Tags: environmental impact, petroleum industry, fish, seismic survey, fish behaviour

Principal Investigator: Gyselman, Eric (1)
Licence Number: 13608
Organization: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Licensed Year(s): 2004
Issued: May 14, 2004
Project Team: Dr. Arthur

Objective(s): The development of oil and gas in the Mackenzie Delta and Mackenzie Valley will require additional seismic surveying to refine the location and extent of reserves. One method that has been proposed is the use of airgun arrays towed behind survey ships in the Mackenzie River. However, the impacts of seismic sound sources on the biota in rivers are not well understood. An understanding of the behavioural reaction of fish to the ship towing the airgun array is a critical issue in predicting the impacts of the surveys. Therefore, the first objective is to determine if and how fish react to the seismic ship and airgun array. The second objective will examine the effects of exposure to the output of a seismic air gun on the auditory system of whitefish and pearl dace.