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white rose oilfield development application - Husky Energy

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damage or foul gear. Any damage to fishing vessels or loss of gear could also lead to further economicloss due to reduced catches. However, this type of damage is not expected to occur frequently. To date,there has been no reported damage as a result of the Hibernia and Terra Nova operations. Compensationfor lost or damaged gear or lost revenue will ensure cumulative effects are negligible.Negligible or minor effects to fish are predicted as a result of construction, operation anddecommissioning at the White Rose site. Effects on fish will not be directly transferred to the fisheriesbecause additional variability will be introduced by changing fishing practices and managementregimes. Therefore, effects on fisheries are anticipated to be negligible.Increased and ongoing environmental data collection and monitoring programs for the White Roseproject will enhance understanding of the Grand Banks ecosystem and may lead to the identification ofnew commercial species. Also, the White Rose production facility and supply vessels will be able toprovide emergency services to a large portion of the Grand Banks.Major oil spills are unlikely events, but have the potential to cause serious and long-lasting damage tothe fishing industry. The most serious potential effects from larger spills are damage to fishing gear,fish tainting (real or perceived), temporary loss of access to fishing grounds and loss of market or marketopportunities through prolonged absence. Oil spill trajectory model results indicate that an oil spilloccurring in the immediate White Rose area would most often disperse offshore and to the south of theFlemish Cap. Given these dispersion patterns, major fisheries disrupted could include the Greenlandhalibut, tuna and swordfish fisheries around the Flemish Pass and the shrimp fishery on the FlemishCap. Fisheries in the eastern portion of NAFO division 3L and 3N could be affected, but to a muchlesser degree. The most serious effect would be a disruption of fishing activity and potential damage togear rather than any serious effect on fish.Cumulative effects on fisheries might occur as a result of oil <strong>development</strong> at the Hibernia and generalmarine transportation (existing), Terra Nova (approved) and White Rose (proposed) <strong>oilfield</strong>s, and futureexploration activities. Negligible cumulative effects on the fishery are predicted with respect to loss ofaccess to fishing grounds or as a result of increased vessel traffic on the Grand Banks. The total nofishingzone for Hibernia (5 km 2 ), Terra Nova (13.8 km 2 ) and White Rose (15.4 km 2 ) is approximately34.2 km 2 , a small fraction of the total fishing area available in 3L. Further, the bulk of current fishcatches are made either well on the landward side of oil <strong>development</strong> sites or on the shelf margin ratherthan in 3Lt. As discussed above, the presence of such no-fishing zones could also indirectly benefitfisheries. With respect to vessel traffic, the total number of trips per week by supply vessels supportingoffshore oil operations will remain a very small fraction of total traffic on the Grand Banks.Although each operator has or will have mitigation measures in place to deal with damage to fishingequipment, there could be delays in compensation for lost or damaged gear and lost revenue if there isdisagreement about which project is responsible. Negligible cumulative effects on fish catches areanticipated as a result of biophysical effects of oil operations on fish. A positive cumulative effect isWhite Rose DA Project Summary • January 2001 Page 97

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