HONOLULU Endangered sea turtles and humpback whales have beensighted off Hawaii beaches soiled by at least 10,000 gallons of oilfrom a mystery spill, and officials were concerned about thelong-term effects of oil on the animals.
Crews Saturday continued to clean bunker fuel oil from more than20 miles of beach on the islands of Lanai and Molokai, two of themost undeveloped in the main Hawaiian chain.
John Naughton, a biologist with the National Marine FisheriesService, said he saw whales surfacing through an oil slick andwitnessed green sea turtles feeding just off a tarred beach.Humpback whales and green sea turtles are both listed as endangeredspecies.
Although no marine animals had been harmed by the oil yet,"There may be some long-term effects," he said.
Naughton particularly was concerned about the sea turtles, whichfeed on algae that may have been tainted by toxic substances in theoil.
Oil was first spotted between Molokai and Lanai last Sunday.Authorities said at the time that the spill appeared minor and mostof the oil likely would drift out to sea.
However, the oil sullied a nine-mile stretch of Molokai's southcoast and about 10 miles of Lanai's shore in the form of tar ballsand small puddles.
Beachgoers have been warned, said state Health Director JohnLewin.
The source of the spill has yet to be determined.
Bunker fuel oil is less toxic than crude oil, which comesstraight from the ground and has more petroleum and other gases,Spangler said.
The incident was Hawaii's second oil spill in less than a month.On March 2, the tanker Exxon Houston broke loose from a mooring andran aground off Oahu, spilling more than 30,000 gallons of oil andpolluting two miles of shoreline.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий