Environmental activists and a local legislator are urging Rutgers University to halt a seismic testing study planned for this summer, saying it would be detrimental to marine life and the local fishing industry.

Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action (COA), said during a May 23 press conference in Point Pleasant Beach that the study will include producing a 230- decibel sound blast on the ocean floor off the coast of Barnegat that will impact animal life throughout the shoreline.

“The study will be to blast sound waves deep into the sediment to look for sea level rise and climate change evidence,” Zipf said. “They want to augment some physical core samples that they took in 2009, and this data will provide a 3-D image of the deep sea floor.”

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6) spoke at the event, launching a campaign to halt the seismic testing, which is expected to impact a 240-square-mile area over the course of 30 days, concluding Aug. 17.

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