The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a globally significant marine ecosystem that must be protected from oil and gas development, says a coalition of fishermen, environmentalists, aboriginal people and others. They are calling for a moratorium on all activity and that an arms-length review panel be struck to examine the issue.
‘Desperately concerned’
“We’re desperately concerned right now that oil and gas (development) could go ahead in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,” says Gretchen Fitzgerald, director of the Atlantic chapter of the Sierra Club Canada Foundation. “The gulf is six to seven times smaller than the Gulf of Mexico. So should we have a spill like the BP spill in our gulf, we’re concerned that the entire system would just be hammered by oil and toxins.”
Home to huge krill populations, the Gulf of St. Lawrence attracts endangered blue whales and a diversity of wildlife. It borders five out of ten Canadian provinces and opens to the Atlantic Ocean. There is so far no oil and gas development, but the coalition fears projects could be approved imminently.
Spills and noise could devastate ecosystem
Seismic activity used in exploration for oil and gas is deafening for whales and other creatures and can severely damage them, says Fitzgerald. And drilling can release toxins and oil. She says there has been no evaluation of the risks. “What we do know is cause for concern, what we don’t know is huge.”
Millions of people visit areas around the gulf every year. They include beautiful beaches of Prince Edward Island National Park and the Magdalen Islands, Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail, and the spectacular fjords of western Newfoundland. And the gulf supports fisheries like lobster, eel and snow crab.
The coalition is calling on communities and citizens from the area and across Canada to ask the federal and five provincial governments to declare a moratorium on oil and gas development and that they as for an independent panel to review the issue.
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