Civil society organisations The Green Connection, Aukotowa Fisheries Primary Co-Operative and Natural Justice have launched a judicial review of decisions to grant authorisation to seismic and geophysical data analytics company TGS to conduct seismic surveys off South Africa's Western Cape and Northern Cape coastlines.

The case challenges decisions made by the Department of Minerals and Energy, as well as the subsequent dismissal of internal appeals by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the organisations say.

“World Fisheries Day was celebrated this week [on November 21], and it is critical to confront the environmental and social risks posed by seismic surveys,” says The Green Connection strategic lead Liz McDaid.

“The ocean is an acoustic world, with marine species relying on sound for communication, navigation and survival.

“Seismic surveys use airgun noises that can disrupt the delicate balance, being some of the loudest underwater sounds on Earth that are, in some cases, detectable as far as 4 000 km away.

“However, the environmental-impact assessment (EIA) fails to address how far this noise will travel and its broader implications for marine life,” she emphasises.

Evidence links such noise to hearing loss and stress in marine mammals and deaths of fish and zooplankton.

The EIA also neglects key issues, such as the variability in habitat sensitivity and the far-reaching impact of noise pollution on critical biodiversity areas and marine protected areas.

“The report overlooks how seismic noise propagates over vast distances, disrupting ecosystems well beyond the project area. It downplays the risks by failing to apply the precautionary principle or recommending comprehensive acoustic modelling.

“Seismic noise can disrupt entire ecosystems. Ignoring these risks could have irreversible consequences for marine ecosystems and the livelihoods tied to them. Small-scale fishers, who depend on a healthy ocean, are particularly vulnerable,” McDaid notes.

Further, the applicants argue that the authorisation also disregarded cumulative risks in their assessments, particularly the overlapping seismic survey blocks in the project area.

These risks were not adequately studied or mitigated, thereby leaving marine ecosystems vulnerable to severe and long-lasting damage, they say.

For generations, small-scale fishers along South Africa’s West Coast have been stewards of the ocean. However, they have faced exclusion, economic marginalisation and have witnessed environmental degradation as a result of climate change and poor environmental governance.

“We have seen our fish stocks decline over the years, and migration patterns change. This forces us to travel further out to sea, which is much more dangerous,” says Aukotowa Fisheries Primary Co-Operative chairperson and Port Nolloth generational fisher Walter Steenkamp.

“This isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s a threat to our culture, our history and our ability to sustain our families. The seismic surveys will only make things worse,” he says.

The organisations also argue that government’s decisions failed to consider the global climate crisis and ignored the reduced necessity for oil and gas exploration as the world shifts toward cleaner energy alternatives.

“South Africa is at a critical juncture. The country’s Constitution and environmental laws demand that decisions like these serve people and the planet.

“This case is about holding decision-makers accountable to those principles,” the civil society organisations say.