Seismic work now underway in the Chukchi Sea in conjunction with marine petroleum exploration is raising concerns among marine groups including the Marine Connection and scientists. The biggest concern is the impact on marine mammals, especially whale populations.

The Chukchi Sea is prime habitat for bowhead whales. The impact of potential deflection of migratory patterns, disruption of communications,reproduction and other social behavior among whales could have dire effects on the future of the whales. The noise from air guns firing towards the sea floor for the seismic tests will likely frighten whales in the area away from their feeding areas as air guns can create extraordinarilyloud noises within the oceans.

The permits went to Shell, ConocoPhillips and GX Technologies who should follow the several restrictions and requirements that go along with the seismic agreements. General mitigation measures outlined in the incidental harassment authorisation by the U.S. Minerals Management Service requires that concentrations of whales be avoided. The oil companies have employed trained observers, including Alaska Natives with subsistence hunting experience, to identify whales in the area. However in these vast, turbulent waters, where vision may be challenged by the weather and darkness, the question is how many whales they may spot?

Oil and gas exploration in this critical habitat are very troubling as in
addition to disruption of normal movement and feeding by marine mammals, the exploration and production of oil in these waters also pose a threat of oil spills, which could be devastating to fish, birds and mammals, particularly right whales, and their food supply. A 2003 Acoustical Society of America report, written by two Australian scientists, along with another from the University of Maryland, said it is unknown whether exposure to these air guns has the potential to damage the ears of aquatic vertebrates.

12 percent of the Bering Sea's wildlife species are already at risk of decline or extinction due to complex problems ranging from commercial fishing and global climate change to pollution. Recent research in the Atlantic Ocean demonstrates that the sounds from seismic exploration can travel as much as 1,863 miles through the ocean.