South African fish farmers along the west coast have raised concerns about the impact of oil and gas exploration in the deepwater Orange Basin being carried out by TotalEnergies.
TotalEnergies intends to drill up to ten exploration wells along the west coast as well as conduct sonar surveys and vertical seismic profiling among other thorough operations.
These activities will stretch out from 188 kilometres to 340 kilometers from the coast according to GroundUp a South African newspaper.
The fish farmers are worried about how the explorations would affect their livelihoods saying that they rely heavily on fishing and the doringbaai abalone farm at the harbour.
“Oil and gas, and fishing cannot co-exist,” said Fabian Mohammed, a fish farmer in Doringbaai. “Either you go into the ocean to catch fish or you go for oil and gas. But you cannot do both”
Several public consultations were held about the matter and most concerns raised about the activities constituted whether there will be any fish left in the years to come and what that would mean for future generations.
According to South Africa Pelagic Fishing Industry Association (SAPFIA) the sonic waves from exploration activities damage fish, destroy marine wildlife and promote the migration of marine species from the affected areas. Inevitable accidental oil spills will also put marine life in danger.
