Melanie's Sharebook 

The following is an urgent message from Cetacealab, a non-profit whale research station on the north coast of BC:

A research project, called the "Batholiths" has proposed to conduct seismic testing along the inside passages of Northern and Central BC for September 2007. The vessel will tow an array 3 km long and blast sound every 20 to 30 seconds, for a 3 week period. The sound is of unimaginable power and has been compared to that of a shotgun blast MULTIPLIED by 10,000 times!!

These blasts have the potential to cause deafness or death to marine mammals, fish and invertebrates. This includes salmon, herring, octopus, squid, bears, wolves, sea lions, otters, dolphins and whales.

Our research indicates that the proposed timing of the seismic testing is the worst possible as it coincides with the peak abundance of humpback whales in our study area. The whales come into the inside channels to feed before they start their annual migration to Hawaii. Any disruptions may prevent them from successfully reaching their calving grounds or returning to these essential feeding locations next season.

Our recent research findings suggest that we have a number of pregnant female humpback whales feeding in the narrow inside channels surrounding Cetacealab. Northern Resident Orcas and Transient Orcas also frequent the area of the proposed seismic tests. Humpback whales and Orcas are considered a threatened species and are protected under the Species at Risk Act.

We have repeatedly tried to convince the scientists of the Batholiths project to abandon their plan, with no success. For this reason we would like to ask for your help.

Relevant federal Canadian authorities will allow public input until October 31st, before they make a decision whether or not they will allow this project to go ahead.

Please see the prepared letter below, which we would like you to fill in your name and send to the e-mail address which is listed in the document header. Please pass it on to your family, friends and co-workers. You may also want to personalize the letter to your own needs.

If you have further questions please contact us at info@whaleresearch.ca (Please send copies of any replies to this address.)

For further information you can also check out these websites:

http://cetacealab.org/blog/awareness.php?cat=27
http://www.raincoast.org/proj-mar-mammals/proj-mar-mam-2.shtml

Sincerely,

*****YOUR NAME********