Impacts of Offshore Seismic Survey on Artisanal Fishing and Initiatives to Mediate Small Conflicts with Fishing Communities
Abstract:
The Offshore oil and gas exploration activities contribute significantly to global economic growth. However, in recent years the scientific community has shown a concern about the environmental and social impacts associated, in partic ular, to offshore seismic surveys. Furthermore, the immediate economic impacts on the structure of small fishing com munities, another major concern is directly related to food security, once, fishes are usually the community’s main, if not the only source of animal protein. Thus, the current work sought to contribute to the understanding of the events chain that link such conflicts to their causes, using the elaboration of impact diagrams as a supporting technique. The study was based on research of information and data collection that involves different techniques: extensive literature review, document analysis and interviews with the main key actors that work in the environmental licensing process of offshore seismic survey activities. The study demonstrates that seismic survey changes the pattern of spatial distribution of ma rine fauna species due to sound pulse emissions of seismic data acquisition, it was found as one of the main triggers of negative impacts on artisanal fishery and, consequently, a major cause of conflicts with the communities. Moreover, in general, seismic survey take place in short period of time, for this reason, it was established a well-defined spatial distribution of the seismic survey activities, it led to the adoption of the temporary restriction area in the use of maritime space as an operational security measure in order to avoid accidents between vessels, this interdiction, sometimes does not allow the access to traditional fishing for their activity. In few cases, however, environmental studies have succeeded in defining the fishing territory with greater precision in relation to both its geographic distribution and the period of the seismic survey data acquisition. Thus, allow establishing restrictions on the seismic activities. In any case, it is clear that the weak participation of the fishing communities during the decision-making process for environmental licensing of seismic activities contributes to the intensification of the identified conflicts.
