July 26, 2019 — Research by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies in Hobart and Curtin University in Western Australia found lobsters exposed to the air guns used in seismic surveys had damaged statocysts, an organ similar to the human inner ear.
One of the researchers, Ryan Day, said this left the lobsters with an impaired ability to right themselves when flipped over.
“They really rely on this ability to right themselves and to control when they are escaping from a predator,” he said.
The lobsters received the equivalent of a full survey passing within 300–500 metres.
“In all experiments we didn’t detect any sign of recovery, even one year after,” Dr Day said.
The results have prompted a renewed call by Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson for the practice to be investigated.