Two highly motivated academics – Professors Gail Fraser, in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University, and Angela Carter, a political scientist at the University of Waterloo – joined forces to press for changes in the offshore oil industry after their study showed that a lack of regulatory action places seabirds’ lives at risk due to their attraction to lighting on oil rigs.
“Our study underscores pressing problems with the environmental governance structure of Newfoundland’s offshore oil industry,” said Fraser. The two researchers make suggestions for change, including the introduction of light deflectors.
This work was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and published in Ocean Yearbook (2018).
Seabirds encounter numerous threats to their existence. In Newfoundland, on the Grand Banks, offshore oil production began over two decades ago. This area supports one of the most diverse and abundant seabird communities in the world – an estimated 40-million birds comprising 20 species, according to the Canadian Wildlife Service.
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Image via York University.