In response to Woodside recently submitting geotechnical survey plans at Scott Reef to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), the following comments can be attributed to Hannah Schuch, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:
"'Geotechnical survey' is a vague term for high-volume subsea blasting, and Woodside wants to do this in significant foraging habitat for endangered pygmy blue whales, and within metres of vulnerable turtle nesting grounds at magnificent Scott Reef - it's ludicrous.
"This plan from Woodside piles on the existing harms that could come from its reckless plans to drill for gas at Scott Reef, which WA's environmental watchdog deemed 'serious, significant and irreversible' in a letter to Woodside that was published just last week.
"Pygmy blue whales rely on Scott Reef as a feeding area on their migrations up and down the WA coast. Scott Reef is the last foraging ground for this endangered species before Perth, thousands of kilometres south.
"Industrial activity at Scott Reef, like drilling or blasting, could force whales away from vital habitats and off their migration pathways and, according to independent expert analyses, have deadly consequences for pygmy blue whales and green turtles - it is a completely unacceptable plan and should not be allowed to go ahead.
"The risks to marine life from Woodside's reckless nature and climate-wrecking plans at Scott Reef are overwhelming. The Federal Environment Minister has an opportunity to define Australia's record on nature protection by saving Scott Reef once and for all."
