By John Ikani
Hundreds of people on Sunday took part in protests on beaches in South Africa against planned exploration for offshore Oil and Gas by the Multinational Energy Company, Shell.
The protest came a day after a court on Friday dismissed an application to halt an underwater seismic survey by the company.
The survey is due to take place along the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast, a stretch of Indian Ocean shoreline with several nature reserves.
In Cape Town protesters held up the peace symbol and brandished a giant model snoek fish to highlight their concerns about the potential impact of the project on sea life.
Under a dull, rainy sky, protesters in Gqeberha waved signs showing a Shell logo altered to resemble a hand showing its middle finger and calling for a boycott of the group’s petrol stations.
Shell says the five-month survey will not harm wildlife.
However, activists insist Shell’s plans to search for oil and gas deposits off the beloved “Wild Coast” of eastern South Africa — a key tourist attraction — will threaten marine wildlife such as whales, dolphins, seals and penguins on the pristine coastal stretch.
Shell plans to use seismic waves emitted from boats equipped with air cannons to analyse the geological structure of the ocean floor, hunting for spots likely to contain hydrocarbons.
Ecologists say the exploration technique could upset animals’ behaviour, feeding, reproduction and migration patterns, with many sea creatures such as whales relying heavily on their sense of hearing.
“We don’t want it here because our families live off this ocean. They fish crayfish amongst other things here and sell it to get money so they can feed families because there are no jobs,” one demonstrator said.
“It’s actually just horrendous that they are even considering this… We will stop it; everybody will oppose this,” another said.
Meanwhile, the countrywide protests aimed at stopping energy giants Shell from blasting the ocean floor off South Africa’s ecologically sensitive East Coast in search of oil and gas have spread to the UK.
A group of 100 Africans in the UK converged outside the South African High Commission in Trafalgar Square on Sunday to fight what they called “the harsh punishment of Africans”.
The organisers of the UK protest said Shell’s seismic exploration in the marine protected areas would result in a complete marine ecosystem collapse which would have disastrous effects on marine biodiversity and local indigenous communities, their livelihoods and tourism for the region.
