The Federal Court dismissed Thursday a request by environmental groups for a stay of the federal government's authorization of U.S. scientific marine seismic surveys off the B.C. coast.Justice Michael Kelen said he is not satisfied that the surveys would harm marine life based on new federal requirements imposed since the legal action was launched. The requirements include a reduction in the 180-decible level of the survey's airguns to 160 decibels, an increase in marine mammal observers, and a stipulation that no testing occur within about seven kilometres of a whale.The Living Oceans Society and Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society brought the action, fearing the seismic surveys from the research vessel Marcus G. Langseth would harm marine life, including whales and dolphins.CPAWS spokeswoman Sabine Jessen said in response she is happy the action forced Ottawa to adopt tougher measures, but still has concerns about seismic testing in a protected area.The Marcus G. Langseth is owned by the U.S. National Science Foundation and used by universities, research institutes and labs to study the Earth's interior below the ocean floor.The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of Columbia University, operates the ship as a research facility on behalf of the foundation.Scheduling is coordinated by the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System, an organization of 61 academic institutions and national laboratories.The study underway about 250 kilometres off Vancouver Island is to help in the understanding and prediction of earthquakes, with additional scientific research into species living in the Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents Marine Protected Area.Larry Pynn/Vancouver Sun
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