The publications, SEARCH - Australian Whales and Dolphins; and Seismic Exploration and the Marine Environment, were unveiled today by the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA).

“These are much-needed publications aimed at improving Australian’s knowledge about whales and other marine mammals,” APPEA’s Executive Director, Barry Jones, said at today’s Canberra launch.

However, we still need to rid ourselves of the ignorance and myth that continues to tarnish the excellent work being undertaken by the upstream oil and gas industry towards managing activities in the marine environment in Australia,” he said.

Jones said the quote - ‘A little learning is a dangerous thing’ - was very well known.

“In that context, it is such a great pity that on today’s 25th anniversary of whale protection in Australia, much of the public debate about the interaction between whales and the upstream oil and gas industry is still characterised by ignorance,” he said.

“It’s time to change that.”

Jones said “ignorance and myth” posed a threat to good marine environmental management on three fronts.

“First, a lack of good data and easily accessible facts means unfounded concerns can be raised in the communities in which the industry is seeking to work,” he said.

“Such concerns cause delays and costs and, at times, unnecessary antagonism.

“Second, for the industry, best practice environmental management means continuous improvement in our scientific knowledge base.

”Third, it has been clearly demonstrated in a number of jurisdictions in recent months that public policy makers do not understand the regulatory processes that are already in place to manage industry operations.”

Jones said APPEA’s latest research initiative, SEARCH - Australian Whales and Dolphins, targeted improvement in the knowledge bases of both the Australian community and the industry.

“This project will significantly improve the knowledge and understanding of whales and dolphins and their potential interactions with industry activities,” he said.

“It will be of benefit to industry staff as well as to staff of other marine-based industries and the broader community.

“APPEA has identified a need to improve the accuracy of industry observations of the distribution and abundance of whale and dolphin species.

“Whale and dolphin observations are generally collected as a matter of course during seismic operations. In many cases, companies are required to collect such data to meet their obligations under Commonwealth and state legislation.”

Jones said many industry employees working in the marine environment had expressed a keen interest in whale and dolphin conservation.

“They want to contribute to improving our understanding of these unique creatures,” he said.

“This SEARCH initiative will help them do that. It will also improve the quality and consistency of information provided to governments, industry, scientific researchers and other community stakeholders.”

SEARCH contains one of the largest single collection of photographs and video material ever assembled on Australian whales and dolphins, in addition to detailed descriptions and distribution maps.

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