The Wire

The federal goverment has recently increased the areas allowed for oil and gas exploration in South Australia and the Northern Territory, with environmentalists and commercial fisherman raising concerns over the use of exploration techniques.

They are concerned over the use of seismic blasting, a process used by oil and gas explorers to gather data on deposits under the sea bed. The process is being used in areas of high conservation value and has a history of impacting whale populations, as well as fish stock that commercial fisherman target.