Members of a Newfoundland and Labrador wildlife group want seismic testing for oil in the Gulf of St. Lawrence stopped because it harms marine life.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society said it's wrong to sacrifice marine life for the sake of the oil industry.

Seismic testing uses blasts of sound to find evidence of oil and gas under the ocean's floor. According to the society, the sound can travel through water for hundreds of kilometres and has been shown to cause permanent hearing loss in marine mammals.

"Just compare it to a human being, and living next to an area that has very high levels of noise, and the anxiety and [the] stress that that causes to humans," said society member Julie Huntington. "And that's why we try not to have, you know, airports where people live and other high traffic areas where people live."

The society said seismic testing in Nunavut is believed to have permanently deafened seals in the area and driven a pod of whales away for several years.