Richard Black BBC News 30 Apr 10;
How bad will the Gulf of Mexico oil spill turn out to be - for wildlife and for people whose jobs depend on wildlife, such as fishermen?
At the moment, the only completely accurate answer would appear to be: we do not know.
For David Kennedy from the US National Ocean Service, it is "a very very significant event, and of great concern".
"I'm frightened," he adds.
But Clifford Jones, an oil and gas engineering specialist from the UK's Aberdeen University, suggests it should not be considered in the same category as the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989, with which it is regularly being compared.
It is a threat to the ecosystem, he allows: but "Exxon Valdez was a supertanker holding 11 million barrels, and exit of oil from it was simply by gravity.
Continue reading the main story
We have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, including a true catastrophe for birds
Melanie Driscoll National Audubon Society
"Whereas this current incident involves a well that's under the sea, and at most about four million barrels will have leaked out before the pressure within the well drops sufficiently for there to be no further discharge."
Whether or not the estimate of four million barrels turns out to be correct - and it is disputed - there is no doubt that the oil is coming out much more slowly than is normal from a tanker spill.
In principle, this allows the authorities greater time to deal with it - although clearly in this case their efforts have met with mixed success.
Oil breaks down naturally in seawater, and in the warm Gulf of Mexico water, this would proceed much faster than in Alaska's Prince William Sound, where the Exxon Valdez ran aground.
Boom time
In oil spills, as in medicine, prevention is always better than cure. And the first priority for authorities in Louisiana and elsewhere along the Gulf coast is to stop oil washing up on shore.
Booms are being deployed, dispersants sprayed, and some patches of oil are being burned. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is increasing the flow of water through two inland water channels in an attempt to wash oil-tainted seawater out of ecologically important wetlands.
"Home not only to a thriving fishing industry but also a substantial nature reserve, the potential for damage is enormous," says Simon Coxall from the UK's National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.
"Booming the area off with floating dams to protect these areas is the best option; but the size of the spill will exhaust the world's supply of oil booms very quickly."
What makes this region ecologically special is the unusual patterns of land and sea conjured into existence by the lazy and variegated exit of the mighty Mississippi into the Gulf.
Here lie about 25% of US wetlands - areas rich with life, where human occupancy is low, and birds and other animals can thrive.
"For birds, the timing could not be worse; they are breeding, nesting and especially vulnerable in many of the places where the oil could come ashore," warns Melanie Driscoll, a Louisiana-based bird conservation director with the National Audubon Society, the leading US bird conservation group.
"We have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, including a true catastrophe for birds."
The society's list of species potentially affected includes resident seabirds, waders and waterfowl, including heron, brown pelicans and oystercatchers, and migratory birds such as plovers, swallows and buntings that use the Gulf wetlands as a stopover.
The society points out that for some species, this is the now only home they have, with human development further inland having fenced them into these extremities.
The oil slick changes shape and direction rapidly, so predicting where it will make landfall and with what frequency is a hazardous business.
Clearly, the longer it takes BP to stem the flow, the greater the chance that its impacts will be felt further around the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and indeed in its open water.
If the oil flows east, it will encounter the seagrass beds that form a key habitat for manatees, among other species.
"If you've got seagrass beds badly contaminated, clearly the manatees could be seriously affected," says Carl-Gustaf Lundin, head of the Marine Programme at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Here again is a species that is already under severe stress. Fewer than 2,500 adults remain, and the IUCN Red List says the Florida subspecies is expected to decline by at least 20% over the next 40 years, with various factors implicated, including climate change and impacts from boats.
The Gulf waters are already affected annually by fertilisers washing down from southern US farmlands, resulting in a "dead zone" where algae have consumed most of the dissolved oxygen and nothing else can grow.
The Atlantic bluefin tuna is another possible victim.
Over the next six weeks, the western population of this heavily depleted species will spawn in the Gulf of Mexico - principally in the northern portion where the slick is growing.
"The oil would have an impact - it might be toxic to eggs or to the young fry," says Dr Lundin.
"Also, the young hide in sargassum (floating marine plants) - they're very vulnerable at this stage - and this could also be affected by oil."
Human face
Each of these possible impacts on wildlife translates into human consequences.
For tuna and shrimp, you can read jobs in the fishing industry and food supplies for US consumers.
For birds and manatees, you can read tourist income.
No two oil spills are alike; and given the vagaries of winds and sea currents, predicting the likely impact of this one is very difficult.
But you can see why local authorities and conservation groups are beginning to be seriously concerned.
As Oil Slick Drifts Closer, Resource Defenders Gird for Worst Along Gulf Coast
Noelle Straub, Greenwire, The New York Times 30 Apr 10;
Even the frantic preparations to protect the most vulnerable coastlines likely will not prevent devastating harm to key species as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill hits shore at the worst possible time for migration and breeding.
While no one can yet predict the full extent of the damage, experts say more than 400 species in the estuaries are at risk from the slick headed their way.
"It could be very devastating, unfortunately," said David Ringer of Audubon's Mississippi River Initiative. "The timing is pretty disastrous."
Wildlife officials are particularly worried about brown pelicans, which were recently removed from the endangered species list and are currently nesting on barrier islands off the southeast coast of Louisiana.
Breton National Wildlife Refuge, home to about 34,000 birds, is the top priority among the key nesting Gulf Coast areas being recommended by the Fish and Wildlife Service to be protected by booms, said Tom MacKenzie, the spokesman for the service's Southeast Region. In 2005, Breton was hit by an oil spill that killed more than 800 nesting ground pelicans, he said.
"It's those nesting pelicans that we're trying to defend right now," he said.
While four national wildlife refuges are in the immediate danger zone, another 15 along the coast of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida could be hit by the oil, he said.
Over the past few days, berms have been placed at Breton consisting of a series of booms designed to deflect and absorb oil. "They're done in a series of rings almost like a defensive ring if you were going to set up against an invading army," MacKenzie said.
While the booms will help protect nests, little can be done for shorebirds that wade or land in the water, because the oil is already in the ocean, he said.
Several federal agencies are flying over the affected areas to monitor wildlife that could be affected by the oil, such as large flocks of birds, and FWS spotters saw whales swimming in the oil, he said. The first oiled brown pelican was sighted Wednesday on an oil platform near the source of the release.
Other species in particular danger include sea turtles, which will begin nesting "any time now"; gulf sturgeon, which are listed under the Endangered Species Act and migrating upstream to spawn; manatees, which are beginning to spread out along their full range of summer habitat in the Gulf; and numerous species of birds that forage for fish, MacKenzie said.
"This looks like an extremely extensive oil spill that has the potential to impact a lot of resources," he said.
Two whale species may be in the area of the spill, Bryde's whales and endangered sperm whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The greatest threat is if whales get oil in the filtering structure in their mouths, which could lead to starvation and death.
A total of 21 whale and dolphin species that routinely inhabit the northern Gulf are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. There also are five species of threatened or endangered turtles in the Gulf, and one of the only foraging grounds for the endangered Kemp's ridley turtle -- which is in its peak nesting season -- is in the area of the oil spill, NOAA said.
Cleanup, volunteers
BP PLC, which by law is responsible for the cleanup costs, has hired Delaware-based Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, a private nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation organization, to clean oil-coated birds and wildlife.
Five staging areas have been set up to protect sensitive shorelines in Biloxi and Pascagoula, Miss.; Pensacola, Fla.; Venice, La.; and Theodore, Ala. More than 217,000 feet of boom has been placed, with an additional 305,760 feet available.
While government officials and BP are handling all the frontline response currently, they will be looking to conservation groups with local presences to mobilize volunteers, said Audubon's Ringer.
"From our vantage point ... everything that can and should be being done, is being done," Ringer said. "Unfortunately, given the magnitude of what's happening, it's probably not going to be enough to prevent some environmental impact."
Many endangered turtles dying on Texas Gulf Coast
Ramit Plushnick-masti, Associated Press Yahoo News 30 Apr 10;
HIGH ISLAND, Texas – Flies buzz everywhere and the stench is overwhelming as biologist Lyndsey Howell stops to analyze the remains of yet another endangered sea turtle washed up from the Gulf of Mexico. "It's been on the beach for a while," Howell says, flipping over the decomposing, dried-out shell.
More than 30 dead turtles have been found stranded on Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula south of Houston this month — an unusually high number that has puzzled researchers, in part because most are so decomposed that there are few clues left about why they died.
The number of strandings on these shores is double what scientists and volunteers normally see as the turtles begin nesting in April, says Howell, who patrols the beaches as part of her job with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Of the 35 turtles found, all but three were dead. Thirty-three were Kemp's ridleys, an endangered species researchers have spent decades trying to rehabilitate.
Many of the turtles appear to have propeller wounds from boats or have become entangled in fishing nets or lines, Howell says. Others have parasites or are emaciated.
The increase in deaths comes as the turtles swim closer to shore to nest and shrimping season gets into full swing along the upper Texas coast, said Roger Zimmerman, lab director of the NOAA marine fishery laboratory in Galveston.
"Historically, they increase about this time of year. ... This is a few more than we would normally expect," Zimmerman said. "We are concerned and we'll keep an eye on it."
Researchers are also watching the massive oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. If the oil were to begin moving in the direction of the Texas Gulf — which isn't predicted at the moment — many Kemp's ridleys swimming in to nest would be right in its path. In 1979, after an oil spill off the coast of Mexico, Kemp's ridleys were airlifted to cleaner waters.
Shrimping has long been blamed for sea turtle deaths. Shrimpers are required to install grid-like devices in their nets that are designed to allow turtles to escape. Shrimpers caught without the turtle excluder devices — or TEDs — may be fined thousands of dollars and have their catch seized by federal regulators.
Still, some are reluctant to invest $800 on the TEDs or are angry over the extra work they create aboard the shrimp boats, so they gamble they won't be caught.
"When there is more shrimp, there are more turtle strandings," Zimmerman said. "That correlation has been well-documented."
Educating fishermen, the public and shrimpers about preserving Kemp's ridleys is part of a new federal recovery plan expected to be approved in the coming months. The goal is to upgrade the Kemp's ridleys from endangered to threatened within six years — but that depends on having 10,000 nesting females per season. Currently, there are about 6,000.
Nesting season begins in mid-April and lasts into July. Most Kemp's ridleys nest on a beach in Mexico or at Padre Island in south Texas. But increasing numbers have been seeking out the shores of Galveston and Bolivar.
Howell and Zimmerman hope the deaths indicate the population has increased and even more turtles are heading toward the Texas Gulf Coast to nest.
But there's no knowing for certain.
"This is a needle-in-a-haystack thing," said Andre Landry, a marine biology professor at Texas A&M University in Galveston. "It's a difficult situation, pinpointing a cause of death in an animal that may be compromised by decomposition."
Possible economic hit of Gulf oil spill
Reuters 30 Apr 10;
(Reuters) - An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico washed up to coastal Louisiana wildlife and seafood areas on Friday as the U.S. government struggled to avert what could become one of the nation's worst ecological disasters.
Following are some of the estimated costs from the spill as well as its impact on share prices and markets.
CLEAN UP COSTS
- Fitch's Energy Team estimates containment and clean-up costs could reach $2 billion to $3 billion.
- BP Plc's Chief Executive Tony Hayward said the company would clean up the mess and compensate those affected. Transocean owned and operated the rig that exploded and sank last week, causing the spill. BP hired Swiss-based rig company Transocean Ltd to run the rig and oversee the project.
- "We are taking full responsibility for the spill ... We are going to be very, very aggressive in all of that," he told Reuters on Friday.
OIL COMPANIES
- Shares of oil services companies tumbled on Friday in the aftermath of the spill. BP is down around 14 percent and Transocean down 20 percent since the rig explosion on April 20.
- Shrimp fishermen in Louisiana have filed a class-action lawsuit against BP, Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron, accusing them of negligence.
FISHERIES/TOURISM
- The cost to the fishing industry in Louisiana could be $2.5 billion, while the impact on tourism along Florida's Gulf coast could be $3 billion, Neil McMahon, analyst at investment firm Bernstein, said in a research note on Friday.
- Omega Protein, the world's largest producer of omega-3 fish oil, relies heavily on a Gulf fishery, and its share price extended Thursday's sharp losses on Friday morning, losing another nine percent to $5.40.
MARKETS
- Analysts have said the spill could be a supportive factor for U.S. crude futures, but negative for Brent if it began to disrupt oil imports in the U.S. Gulf.
Oil prices rose on Friday, heading for a third straight monthly gain, driven by expectations of global economic recovery and hopes of a bailout package to help Greece avoid debt default.
(Source: Reuters)
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