![Dr Michael Coates and Professor James Dunbar are part of a trio which has written a report debunking myths about a proposed offshore wind farm. Picture by Monique Patterson Dr Michael Coates and Professor James Dunbar are part of a trio which has written a report debunking myths about a proposed offshore wind farm. Picture by Monique Patterson](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/379mw9XPZ7UFRqmwjWhGKkr/46fb6d30-18eb-4f99-a79a-600ad16447a2.jpg/r0_0_4032_3024_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
There is no evidence that a proposed offshore wind farm off Port Fairy would kill whales, according to the South West Coast Scientific Group.
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The group, made up of three retired academics, formed about a year ago to investigate the impacts of seismic testing.
It is made up of Professor James Dunbar, a medical academic, Dr Michael Coates, who is a physicist and Associate Professor Laurie Laurenson, who is a marine biologist.
The report was prepared by the South West Coast Scientific Group, which is part of the Clean Ocean Foundation.
Professor Dunbar said the trio met weekly for a coffee and were discussing the proposed seismic testing by multinational company CCG across 4000-square-kilometres of south-west coastline.
"We said 'somebody's got to do something about this'. And we thought about it and said 'it will have to be us'," he said.
The three investigated the impacts of seismic testing and were deeply concerned it would kill krill - a key food source for southern right whales.
On the back of their research, the three said there had been a lot of speculation an offshore wind farm would have similar negative impacts to marine life as seismic testing.
"Disinformation is being spread that seismic blasting and setting up wind farms are the same process, but they're not," Professor Dunbar said.
"As a scientist, I find it offensive if people are peddling deliberate misinformation.
"Science is about the truth, facts, evidence - so when people come along and ignore the truth, facts, evidence, it's like attacking science."
The trio recently completed the Report on the proposed Southern Ocean Offshore Wind Farm: Common Myths Against Offshore Wind Farms.
"We have a strong interest in our marine environment and recognise the urgency of halting global warming," the report says.
The trio said the proposed offshore wind farm in a recently declared offshore wind zone would bring many benefits to the south-west.
"On balance wind farms are beneficial for all marine life because they create artificial reefs, leading to increased fish stocks and provide a virtual marine park to protect those fish," the report says.
"Wind farms are much better for marine life than coal, oil or gas. They may also be good for whales and all other species because they contribute to controlling damage from global warming, such as the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef."
Wind farms don't kill whales
The report says there is no evidence anywhere in the world that wind farms kill whales.
"Independent assessment of the increased number of dead whales washed up on the beaches along the US eastern seaboard demonstrates that they were due to ship strikes, entanglement in fishing nets and warming oceans moving whales northwards," it says.
"A study from Yale covers many aspects of whale strandings and deaths, stating that they have not actually become more common. By contrast, seismic blasting for oil and gas exploration is known to be harmful to all marine life."
Whales won't stop frequenting Warrnambool
The report says there is no evidence to support an argument whales would no longer frequent Logan's Beach in Warrnambool.
"Southern right whales leave Antarctica where they feed on plankton and move up the west coast of Tasmania across the Bass Strait and along our coast to the Great Australian Bight," the report says.
"There are several whale nurseries, including Logan's Beach, Warrnambool. The wind farm site is well clear of the corridor that they use."
The report also says it's unlikely short-term sonar mapping for offshore wind farm construction would drive whales away.
"It is seismic surveys for gas and oil exploration that will drive the whales away," it says.
"These surveys use air guns that discharge bubble explosions which generate intense sound impulses of 250 decibels every 10 seconds or so, all day long (except when the survey ship is reversing course) for up to 200 days.
"Such seismic blasts are needed for the sound to penetrate several kilometres into the seabed to locate the strata containing the oil and gas."
![An artists' impression of what an offshore windfarm would have looked like off Cape Bridgewater. That project is now off the table after it fell outside the zone. An artists' impression of what an offshore windfarm would have looked like off Cape Bridgewater. That project is now off the table after it fell outside the zone.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/379mw9XPZ7UFRqmwjWhGKkr/211bb7bc-69ce-4e11-ba43-a6bab3e65e20.jpg/r0_0_1200_576_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The report says geophysical surveys for locating offshore wind turbines also use sound waves, but only to collect data on conditions at the seafloor and in a shallow subsurface layer.
"The latter is just 50-100 metres thick as turbines are typically installed around 50 metres in the seabed.
"Such surveys are a very low energy, low-impact activity that occurs over a short time.
"High-frequency sonar used to map the seafloor is harder for whales to hear and has been shown not to harm them beyond behavioural disturbances.
"Additionally, these high frequency pulses are absorbed more rapidly through the water column than are low-frequency sound. A whale would need to be close to the ship for the noise to matter but this exposure is unlikely as the ships carry marine observers to warn of the presence of whales."
Proposal won't negatively impact fishing industry
The report also states a proposed offshore wind farm would not have a negative impact on the fishing industry.
"Nothing could be further from the truth," the report says.
"The offshore wind farm creates an artificial reef and the restricted access to them creates refuges in which marine life can flourish.
"The wind farm jackets and their surrounding rock piles will be rapidly colonised by many species up to the big pelagic fish."
The report also says a proposed wind farm would not harm eels, which swim well within 10 kilometres of the shore, well away from the wind farm.
"Furthermore, there is nothing about wind farms that would harm eels anyway, even if they were close to them," it says.
The turbines will only be visible on the horizon
In terms of the wind farm being a blight on the landscape, the report says most of the turbines will be up to 50 kilometres offshore and invisible over the horizon.
The closest turbines would be 15 kilometres from Logan's Beach and 20 kilometres from Port Fairy and may be visible but only on the horizon, the report states.
No evidence wind farms cause illness
It also says there is no evidence wind farms cause ill health or will lead to a catastrophic number of bird deaths.
The trio said there were mitigation measures that could be implemented to reduce any impacts of the proposed offshore wind farm.
"During the construction phase, use can be made of previous 2D and 3D surveys and pile driving noise can be mitigated by carrying out pile driving when species of concern are absent," the report says.
"The use of bubble curtains, which absorb sound energy from immediately around the pile, could be a condition for approval."