MeRA 25 MP Kriton Arsenis: “For each beaked whale that is washed ashore, 33 more die at sea”
Kriton Arsenis
21 Feb 2022
/ 19:41
ATHENS. The issue of the beaked whales that are being washed ashore on Corfu beaches is before Parliament.
MeRA 25 MP Kriton Arsenis raised the issue of the three beaked whales that had been washed ashore on Sunday 20 and Monday 21 February on Corfu beaches in Parliament, by submitting a question to the Environment Minister. The MeRA 25 MP said that the responsible authorities did not actually take all the necessary measures to protect sea life.
Like all the environmental organisations active in the protection of marine fauna in the area, the MeRA 25 MP believes that there is a connection between the beached beaked whales and the seismic explorations conducted by the research vessel ‘SW Cook’ in the area.
Kriton Arsenis’ question to the Environment Minister:
Subject: ‘Beached beaked whales in a marine area in Corfu where seismic explorations for oil are being conducted’
Although I had warned the Plenary, and especially the Minister, about what is at stake with the seismic explorations in the Gulf of Kyparissia, during the discussion of my question on ‘Secret seismic explorations for oil in the Gulf of Kyparissia’, today the cetaceans started being washed ashore in the areas where the research vessel ‘SW Cook’ continues to conduct seismic explorations.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Minister, who had assured us that “measures have been taken to protect this ecologically sensitive area and the marine species, the sea turtles and the cetaceans that live there, given that the seismic explorations are being conducted using sound waves, i.e. a method that does not endanger the life of these species”, proved to be wrong.
The scientific bodies had warned that the intensity of these sound waves for the seismic explorations by the specially equipped ship that started on 15 January from the Gulf of Kyparissia, are exceeding 250 dB, they take place every 10-15 seconds, 24 hours a day, and that the noise can reach hundreds of kilometres away.
The research vessel ‘SW Cook’, on 2 February, passed within the marine area under Natura protection in South Messinia, while it is constantly in the IUCN Important Marine Mammal Area and the ‘Critical Habitat’ for whales under the agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black and Mediterranean Seas (ACCOBAMS), which our country has signed.
Today in the areas of Agios Gordios and Arillas, where the seismic explorations are being conducted, two beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) were washed ashore. According to international studies, for each beaked whale that is washed ashore, 33 of them die at sea. At the moment the beaked whales in Greece are endangered.
Question to the Minister: Will you stop oil exploration immediately?
MP Kriton Arsenis
Like all the environmental organisations active in the protection of marine fauna in the area, the MeRA 25 MP believes that there is a connection between the beached beaked whales and the seismic explorations conducted by the research vessel ‘SW Cook’ in the area.
Kriton Arsenis’ question to the Environment Minister:
Subject: ‘Beached beaked whales in a marine area in Corfu where seismic explorations for oil are being conducted’
Although I had warned the Plenary, and especially the Minister, about what is at stake with the seismic explorations in the Gulf of Kyparissia, during the discussion of my question on ‘Secret seismic explorations for oil in the Gulf of Kyparissia’, today the cetaceans started being washed ashore in the areas where the research vessel ‘SW Cook’ continues to conduct seismic explorations.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Minister, who had assured us that “measures have been taken to protect this ecologically sensitive area and the marine species, the sea turtles and the cetaceans that live there, given that the seismic explorations are being conducted using sound waves, i.e. a method that does not endanger the life of these species”, proved to be wrong.
The scientific bodies had warned that the intensity of these sound waves for the seismic explorations by the specially equipped ship that started on 15 January from the Gulf of Kyparissia, are exceeding 250 dB, they take place every 10-15 seconds, 24 hours a day, and that the noise can reach hundreds of kilometres away.
The research vessel ‘SW Cook’, on 2 February, passed within the marine area under Natura protection in South Messinia, while it is constantly in the IUCN Important Marine Mammal Area and the ‘Critical Habitat’ for whales under the agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black and Mediterranean Seas (ACCOBAMS), which our country has signed.
Today in the areas of Agios Gordios and Arillas, where the seismic explorations are being conducted, two beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) were washed ashore. According to international studies, for each beaked whale that is washed ashore, 33 of them die at sea. At the moment the beaked whales in Greece are endangered.
Question to the Minister: Will you stop oil exploration immediately?
MP Kriton Arsenis
