Georges Bank and Exploration

NS: Indefinite exploration ban placed on Georges Bank
By Staff, Transcontinental Media

Source: The Sou’Wester, November 4, 2010

[HALIFAX, NS] - The Government of Nova Scotia says the marine eco-system off Nova Scotia is too important to place at risk, so it is introducing legislation to indefinitely extend a moratorium on oil and gas exploration on the Canadian portion of Georges Bank.

“It’s just not worth the risk to drill in an area this important to Nova Scotians,” said Premier Darrell Dexter. “Rather than continue this debate every few years, this legislation will provide certainty about our intentions around Georges Bank. Until a compelling case can be made for this decision to be reconsidered, the moratorium will stand.”

The latest moratorium on Georges Bank had been set to expire in June of this year. Prior to that the province had announced that it would extend the moratorium until December 31, 2015, to allow for more scientific study.

But now this provincial legislation will extend the moratorium indefinitely and will require a public hearing and a vote in the legislature to lift it.

The legislation also requires the province to work with the federal government to support this recommendation to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, the independent joint agency responsible for the regulation of petroleum activities in Nova Scotia’s offshore.

“Georges Bank is clearly different from the rest of our offshore,” said Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks. “We need to ensure that industry practices, technology, and other factors have improved to the point where we have full confidence to proceed and we are making the right decision to protect the Georges Bank and its valuable resources.”

The NoRigs 3 coalition – which is made up of fishermen, seafood processors, environmentalists and Aboriginal communities – is pleased with the province’s direction on this issue.

The coalition has been advocating for a permanent ban on oil and gas development on Georges Bank since 2008.

It calls Georges Bank “arguably the most productive marine ecosystem in Canadian Atlantic waters,” noting that many communities in southwestern Nova Scotia depend on the commercial fishery that contributes more than $200 million annually to the Nova Scotia economy.

NoRigs 3 says recent explosions of oil wells and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and near Australia in the Timor Sea have highlighted the kind of damage that can occur to a marine ecosystem and to fishing and tourism industries in the wake of large oil spills.

“This is the third time since the mid 1980s that NoRigs has fought to protect Georges Bank”, says Denny Morrow, NoRigs 3 chairperson. “We applaud this forward thinking action by the premier and his government.”

Georges Bank is home to more than 200 marine species, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale, and it is an important feeding ground for other whales, tuna, swordfish, sharks, turtles and seabirds. Spawning by at least one commercial species is taking place on Georges every month of the year.

Growth rates of fish on Georges surpass those in any other area of the Scotian shelf. The circular gyre resulting from tidal action and currents traps nutrients, eggs and larvae making Georges Bank a unique marine area.

NoRigs 3 says Georges Bank is the one place in Atlantic Canadian waters where a significant recovery of groundfish stocks has been seen. The haddock biomass is at the highest level in 50 years. Cod and yellow tail flounder are also rebuilding, but at a slower rate.

Georges Bank is also considered a successful example of joint Canadian and American groundfish stock management. The Americans have a moratorium on their side of the bank and legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress to provide permanent protection to the 80 per cent of Georges that is in American waters.

The NoRigs 3 coalition points out that the fishing industry and coalition members are not opposed to oil and gas exploration or development in other less sensitive areas of the Scotia Shelf. It says it recognizes the importance of oil and gas revenues and jobs to the Nova Scotia economy.