Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Update: Robson Bight Oil Slick
Last week I reported that an overturned barge had dumped thousands of litres of diesel fuel into the protected waters of the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve near the north end of Vancouver Island. Movement to get clean-up underway got off to a slow start, and local First Nation residents are expressing upset at how the spill was handled.
“We have a lot of knowledge of the area,” Chief Bill Cranmer said. “We’d also like to know what’s happening and what could be improved.”
The ‘Namgis First Nation are currently in treaty negotiations which specify that Robson Bight is at the south end of their claim.
What’s most important, and relieving, is a recent report from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The DFO states that all whales in the area appear to be behaving normally. The protective booms put in place to contain the identified spill areas has been removed so as to not to disrupt the natural habitat. Diesel fuel is largely an evaporative substance, and most of it has since disappeared. The area is now being monitored.
Photos courtesy of CTV News.