Oil spill damage to wetlands feared
Some effects take time to appear, activists say
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Since a pipeline spilled crude off the California coast last weekend, only a handful of oiled birds have been recovered in what environmental advocates said could be a hopeful sign for the region’s wildlife.
But they said it’s too soon to know how many seabirds, marine mammals and other animals will be affected by the oily film covering marsh areas and floating on the ocean — or for how long.
Oiled seabirds are often among the earliest victims of a spill because gobs of crude washing up onto the sand and wetlands can clump their feathers together, leaving them chilled by the cold ocean water. Sea mammals and fish that ingest oil can be affected later on, while damage to coastal wetlands where fish go to spawn can erode critical habitat for scores of species, environmental experts said.
“Those wetlands are nurseries for hundreds of species, and they also reduce erosion and storm surge,” said Peter Kareiva, president and chief executive of the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. “To lose wetlands, the coastal vegetation, is not good for the people who live along the coast, and it’s also not good for the fish along the coast.”
Oil has been washing up on Southern California beaches and wetlands since a leak in an underwater pipeline sent sent 126,000 gallons of heavy crude into the ocean waters. The spill fouled the sands of famed Huntington Beach, and could keep some beaches closed for weeks or longer. It prompted state officials to shut down fishing on a long stretch of the Orange County coast.
Michael Ziccardi, director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, said four oiled birds have been recovered since the spill, one that had to be euthanized. The group has fielded about 20 calls from residents reporting oiled animals and dispatches teams to assess and capture and treat the birds, he said.
Ziccardi said the relatively few reports of oil-laden wildlife leave him “cautiously optimistic” about the extent of the spill’s impact. “It’s much better than we had feared,” he told reporters this week.
Marine mammals can be affected by a spill, but more often the issues they face are long-term from ingestion or inhalation of oil, he said.
The impact on these animals will take much longer to understand, he said.
Kareiva, of the aquarium, said fish and shellfish could face chronic impacts over time from ingesting the oil akin to being poisoned. But the biggest damage might be in the wetlands, a critical habitat for many species, he said.