New research has found marine seismic surveys used in oil and gas exploration are not impacting the abundance or behaviour of commercially valuable fishes in the tropical shelf environment in north-western Australia.

The research is the first of its kind to use dedicated seismic vessels to measure the impacts of the survey’s noise in an ocean environment, with the eight-month experiment conducted within a 2500 square kilometre fishery management zone near the Pilbara coast.

It involved using multiple acoustic sensors, tagging 387 red emperor fish and deploying more than 600 underwater cameras to track and measure fish behaviour before and after firing seismic air guns into the ocean.

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) Principal Researcher and project leader Dr Mark Meekan said the large-scale experiment measured the short-term and long-term effects of seismic airguns on the community of commercially important species in the region, such as red emperor (Lutjanus sebae).

«What makes this research unique and robust is we used an actual seismic vessel in a real ocean environment and some of the most advanced technologies to track and measure possible impacts,» he said.

«Commercial fishers are concerned seismic survey noise could change the abundance and behaviour of key fish species — this research directly sought to determine if commercially valuable fish leave the area or hide when exposed to the seismic noise.

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Materials provided by Australian Institute of Marine Science. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.