Largest Oil Spill in the SF Bay since 1996
 |
| The Marine Mammal Center's Denise Greig (left) and Erin Brodie (right) boat out to a harbor seal haul out area at the Richmond Bridge.Photo courtesy: Brent Stewart - Hubbs - SeaWorld Research Institute |
As part of the oil spill response, The Marine Mammal Center has been working with other area responders to increase monitoring of San Francisco Bay Area harbor seals following the Cosco Busan oil spill. Popular harbor seal haul-out points are being monitored on a regular basis to document and observe any animals that may have oil on them. Samples from wild harbor seals collected in San Francisco Bay on December 3 and 4 will be compared with baseline samples collected as part of the ongoing Harbor Seal Health Project led by the Center marine biologist, Denise Greig.
To get the latest information about the oil spill response and to see photos, visit http://www.nps.gov/goga/sf_oil-spill.htm
If you see an oiled marine mammal, bird or other animal, please report the description of that animal and location and time you spotted the animal to the Oiled Wildlife Reporting Hotline at 877-823-6926.
To report oil sightings call 415-398-9617.
To help the OWCN prepare food, build cages, answering phones, etc. call 800-228-4544 or visit www.owcn.com.
To get the latest updates on oil spill recovery click here.
Click here to see pictures of oil clean-up and bird collection at Rodeo Beach.
Click here to download an oil spill information sheet.
Update as of Monday, February 08, 2010
 As reported by the National Park Service, Rodeo Beach will be undergoing further cleanup efforts following the Cosco Busan oil spill. Rodeo Beach will be closed beginning November 29 for sand washing, a cleanup procedure approved by GGNRA Natural and Cultural Resources. Heavily contaminated sand will be dug up from the north end of the beach and moved to the tidal area so that the waves can separate the oil from the sand. A boom will be placed across the mouth of Rodeo Lagoon to prevent oil from entering the lagoon. This closure is expected to last several days. For photos and video, please visit the Unified Command Oil Spill Response website
Following standard protocol, The Marine Mammal Center reported an adult harbor seal carcass and a live northern fur seal pup, found on Nov 20 and November 24 respectively, to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN). The fur seal was emaciated, as is typical of stranded fur seal pups, and was found in Monterey outside the oil spill zone; however, because it did have oil on approximately 10% of its body, it was accordingly reported to the OWCN. The fur seal died the following day, and a histology report is pending. The harbor seal carcass with oil spots was recovered on Moss Beach; the histology report on this animal is also pending. Histology reports, which are the results from microscopic studies of tissue samples, may help to determine causes of death.
The Center continues to investigate reports of other seals or sea lions that may be covered in oil, but to date, none of the sightings have required a rescue. We will continue to investigate reports of oiled marine mammals in popular haul out areas throughout our rescue range. Please visit this page for future updates.
The Center also continues to do assessments of the California sea lions at PIER 39 every day. At present, no sea lions in that area have been observed as seriously affected by the oil or in need of being rescued. You may notice that there are fewer sea lions at the PIER. This is normal and is not part of the oil spill. Sea lions tend to travel north at this time of year, as far as British Columbia, Canada.
There were fewer sea lions at Pier 39 this year due to a dredging operation that was in progress when the spill happened. The dredging was occurring in the west marina of Pier 39 (where K dock is located) mostly at night so it was not obvious to the public. The dredging was stopped for three to four days after the spill but resumed again early the next week. Also just after the spill through the weekend there was much activity by the incident command and pier 39 to protect the sea lion colony with booms. All this increase in small boat activity in the marina would deter sea lions from hauling out. They are most often spooked by small boats in the marina, they are accustom to the regular traffic of the Blue and Gold boats and residents boats.
Link to dredging photos:
http://www.pier39marina.com/scrapbook/salt-river.htm
Link to oil spill clean up at Pier 39 http://www.pier39marina.com/scrapbook/oil-spill.htm
On November 7, 2007 an outbound container ship struck the base tower of the western span of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. Approximately 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel spilled from the ship into the bay. According to the Golden Gate National Recreational Area Incident Command Team, this is the largest oil spill in the San Francisco Bay since the Cape Mohican incident in 1996. Approximately 8,000 gallons of the fuel had been contained as of the morning of November 8.
The Marine Mammal Center, as per oil spill response protocols, continues to work with the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) to assist where needed in rescuing marine mammals and other wildlife. So far, The Center has not needed to rescue marine mammals as a result of the spill. On November 8, under the direction of the OWCN, the Center assisted in collecting many living and dead birds at Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands. The birds were transported and turned over to the OWCN for further medical attention and cleaning.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, The most recent information (as of November 16) about the clean up is as follows:
Total personnel employed: 1,399
Total gallons discharged: approx. 58,000
Total gallons of oil recovered to date: approx. 16,974
Total gallons evaporated: approx. 4,060
Total birds captured: 951
Total dead birds: 884
Number of beaches closed: 25
|
San Francisco Bay Oil Spill 