Oil spill will 'kill marine life for years'

news.com.au 13 Mar 09;

ONE of Australia's leading conservation groups has warned the oil spill along Queensland's coast will affect every level of the marine food chain.

Martin Taylor from WWF said everything from fish and crabs to water birds, dugongs and dolphins, would feel the effects after oil spilled from a cargo ship caught in cyclonic winds on Wednesday.

"It's a mass poisoning event, effectively," Mr Taylor said.

It goes away very slowly naturally, mostly through bacterial attack, and then breakup and emulsification with the action of water.

"So unless people get out there and clean it up as fast as possible, that poison will kill marine life for years."

Mr Taylor said the oil not only affected the feathers of birds, it also clogged up the feeding systems of crabs and shellfish.

But it was not just the small creatures that were in danger, he warned, saying animals like dugongs, turtles and dolphins were also at risk.

"Fuel is poisonous, and very toxic," he said.

"The hydrocarbons get absorbed and end up in the tissues of the fish larger animals are eating.

"Dugongs eat seagrass and a lot of that's tidal, so when the tide goes out a lot of seagrass gets exposed and the oil will settle on it."

Mr Taylor said turtles were susceptible to the black slicks as well.

"It can affect their metabolism and make them ill and could also affect their breeding,: he said.

About 100,000 litres of oil have washed up on the shores of Moreton and Bribie island and parts of the Sunshine Coast after spilling from the cyclone-stricken Pacific Adventurer on Wednesday.