Trump administration approves seismic tests that could harm thousands of Atlantic dolphins and whales

The Trump administration took an important step toward future oil and natural gas drilling off the Atlantic shore, approving five requests allowing companies to conduct deafening seismic surveys that could harm tens of thousands of dolphins, whales and other marine animals, according to studies.

A North Atlantic right whale appears at the surface
of Cape Cod bay off the coast of Plymouth, Mass. 

In an announcement Friday, the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, declared that it issued final “incidental take” authorizations permitting companies conducting the surveys to harm wildlife if its unintentional.

“NOAA Fisheries is clear in the documentation related to [incidental take authorizations] that we do not expect mortality to occur as a result of these surveys,” said a spokeswoman, Katherine Brogan. But numerous scientific studies show acoustic sound can harm or potentially kill animals.

Read the story from The Washington Post - “Trump administration approves seismic tests that could harm thousands of Atlantic dolphins and whales.”