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Up to 100 Birds Contaminated By Oil Spill Off the B.C. Coast

Posted on: Monday, 7 August 2006, 21:00 CDT

SQUAMISH, B.C (CP) - Officials monitoring an oil spill off the B.C. coast say up to 100 birds in the Squamish estuary have been affected.

It will take a number of days to see whether the bunker fuel that seeped into the estuary will make the birds sick, Dave Smith of the Canadian Wildlife Service said Monday.

Cleanup crews have attempted to capture birds soiled by the oil but have so far been unsuccessful.

"All the birds flew into the air," he said. "You can't really do anything with birds unless you capture them. There's no way to do that until they're weakened to the point where they can be captured and that generally takes several days."

Smith said trying to capture the birds is only putting more stress on them.

More than 29,000 litres of heavy bunker oil spewed into the water after a cargo ship punctured a fuel tank while leaving port Friday.

The wind pushed it about 500 metres into Howe Sound, a stretch of water along the highway between Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler, and some seeped into the sensitive Squamish estuary.

Brian Clark with the B.C. Environment Ministry acknowledges that authorities are being criticized for downplaying the situation.

"The public perceptions is that we're doing nothing but we've been out there every day, we know where the birds are, we know where they're moving, so when they do get weak we'll be able to get there faster," Clark said.

He added that otters in the area that may have been exposed to the oil appear to be healthy and free of contamination.

An estimated two-thirds of the oil has been recovered. About 90 cubic metres of oil debris has been collected and stored for shipment to a disposal location.

Parts of the shoreline and several recreational areas remain closed. The area is a popular spot for windsurfers.

A representative for the owner of the vessel that caused the slick said he has not consulted with local concerns that rely on the shoreline for business.

"There's no immediate plan or agreement in place for that kind of compensation," said David Jones. "Down the road those kinds of claims can be made and can be assessed according to the shipowners' responsibilities and obligations."

Coasr guard spokesman Don Rodden said he's made recommendations on whether charges should be laid once the Transportation Safety Board has completed its investigation into incident.

Source: Canadian Press

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