Protect the ocean
The Green Connection says the 5-month period set aside for seismic surveys off the Wild Coast is understood to fall within the migration season for hump-backed whales. It could also endanger the lives of juvenile turtles coming down the coast in the Agulhas current. Environmental activists have called on the company, Shell to stop its plan to conduct seismic surveys, off the Wild Coast.
Over the weekend, nearly 200 concerned citizens took to the Waterfront to get a glimpse of Shell’s seismic testing vessel, Amazon Warrior, as it made its way into Cape Town harbour. The Green Connection’s Strategic Lead Liziwe McDaid says, “We have a strong message for the Shell Corporation, ‘Stop messing up our planet. By causing harm to the ocean, the knock-on effect is that the livelihoods of our small-scale fishing communities could be affected. The time has come to completely change your business model because fossil fuels are the past and only enriching a few. Climate change is real and harming nature as well as the thousands of people who depend on a healthy environment for their livelihoods. This is a time for these corporations to shift from being fossil fools to working with the people to move forward to a just transition to renewable energy sources.”
McDaid added, “the reason we are unhappy with this idea is @Shell has used a legal loophole, no EIA was required in 2013. Now in 2021, this authorisation is being used to justify their actions.”
For more information about The Green Connection’s Who Stole Our Oceans campaign and the work with small-scale fishing communities, go to https://thegreenconnection.org.za/
So far, more than 216 000 people have signed a petition to stop this from happening.
Find the link to the petition here – https://www.change.org/p/insist-the-dea-challenges-seismic-surveying-of-our-coastline
