"Hundreds of people gathered in Montevideo on Thursday to reject oil exploration in Uruguayan continental waters, as part of a national mobilisation highlighting the environmental impact this type of activity could have. Footage shows protesters marching through the streets of the capital holding signs with messages such as ‘It is not progress, it is ecocide’, ‘Sea free of oil companies’ and ‘No to seismic prospecting’, among others. The mobilisation follows a resolution by the Ministry of Environment, issued on February 27, which approved the plans presented by the French company Viridien, operating under the corporate name CGG Services, to conduct seismic exploration to find hydrocarbons in a maritime block assigned to the oil company Chevron. "Let us not make the mistake of destroying our seas and our marine fauna," said Agustina Larroca, an activist from the Assembly Sea Free of Oil Companies, one of the organisations that called the protest. Environmental organisations denounce seismic prospecting as a serious threat to marine fauna and as a contradiction to Uruguay's renewable energy sources, which make up around 90 percent of the country’s electricity. "It is an attack on life, but beyond that, it is an attack on fishing production, it is an attack on the tourism industry of our country, but above all, in a country that is globally recognised for its energy transition," said another activist from the Assembly Sea Free of Oil Companies. Various civil society organisations and NGOs have filed injunctions to halt the research projects; however, the Uruguayan courts have rejected them. The Ministry of Environment says that a set of measures has been taken "for mitigation and environmental protection, to protect in particular marine fauna, among the most demanding at the international level". The plan for ‘seismic exploration’ studies, part of the initial stage of the search for hydrocarbons in Uruguayan waters, is scheduled to begin on Friday and run through the end of April, according to local media."