WDC Blog - From the Front Line

World Oceans Day, 8 June 2010. Eulogy for the Gulf of México. Let us now remember and celebrate the life of what was one of the most species diverse and productive corners of the world ocean: the now beleaguered Gulf of México, its brilliance long to be stained by the reality and the legacy of one of the world’s largest ever oil spills.

Supposedly now being contained on the north side of the Gulf, the spill was last compared to the size of Luxembourg but that doesn’t account for the three-dimensional penetration of the mile-plus water column.

The human addiction to oil — and corporate greed shouting out in its willingness to take extraordinary risks for profit —has much to answer for.

Of course, the Gulf itself is not dead. But sadly the world will now think of oily destruction whenever they hear “Gulf of Mexico”. How long it will take the Gulf to get back to “normal”?

For now, the bodies pile up: seabirds, turtles, fish, dolphins. The fishing boats lie rusting in the marinas. The beaches are near empty. And all over the world, the people who trusted the can’t-miss blue chip BP with their pensions and investments, will suffer, too. Even the oil workers on other rigs in the Gulf have been choking on the fumes, and many have been evacuated. Spare a thought for those species that have nowhere to go but to try to live, and sooner or later die, in the mess.

Let us now remember this sea of gold. Please remember the gold was never the oil; it was the fish, shrimp, dolphins, whales, the sea itself. This golden sea will long be tarnished.

Let this at least be a warning to those who may become similarly blinded by the promise of false gold beneath the sea, eager and willing to risk our future, and our children’s future. We can’t let it happen again.

My blogging history began with my outrage at the oil spill in the Timor Sea. That spill that started with a blowout close to the seabed on August 21st 2009 and lasted for 10 long weeks, as well as revealing the depth of denial that Governments will run to keep powerful industry happy.

The Timor spill was by no means the first, and this Gulf of Mexico spill is  unlikely to be the last.

In fact it has been a busy year for the oil and gas industry in terms of its impacts on our marine environment. Since February 2009 there has been a spill in Ireland, another in Norway, two in the USA and three in Australia. Each has received intense media focus while the oil was flowing, then seemed to mysteriously fade from public and policy makers minds once stopped. I often wonder why? The drama isn't over at that point.

All marine conservation eyes are turning to Australia where Environment Minister Peter Garrett has some very important papers in his in-box. He is being asked by a large number of Australian conservation groups, the Save Our Marine Life (SOML) consortium, supported by international cetacean scientists, to set aside substantial portions of southwest, northwest and northern Australia in highly protected marine areas.

This is part of the same region that has just experienced the devastating Timor oil spill, so Minister Garrett’s decision will be very timely.

Nearly three decades ago Australia launched the modern movement to protect marine areas with its designation of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Over the past few years, however, marine protection efforts in Australia have slowed down while designations in the Pacific and portions of the Antarctic have accelerated. The Great Barrier Reef is no longer the largest MPA in the world, nor is it the most highly protected; several areas in other countries have now surpassed it.

Many Australians are eager that their government revives its leadership in marine conservation affairs. With its dominant location in the great southern ocean, Australia has the capacity to make huge strides now for marine conservation in the lead-up to 2012 when countries are going to be evaluated on what they have done in terms of creating effective marine protected areas and restoring marine biodiversity.

The decision is going to be made on Southwest Australian MPAs and reserves before Christmas 2009, with the northwest and northern areas to follow in early 2010. WDCS is asking people to send an urgent email to Minister Garrett to recommend he vote for the highest possible protection levels for whales, dolphins and marine life. Click here.

Much has transpired since the last blog entry. The spill, of course, continues to flow out into the marine environment and atmosphere (not forgetting that light crude and gas are both leaking), the Government’s rapid assessment has reported significant number of animals within the slick ... oh, and now the rig is on fire!

The company which runs the well, PTTEP Australasia, has told the media that the fire broke out as it made another attempt to plug a leak deep underwater at the Montara rig. Thankfully, no workers were onboard the rig when the fire started and workers on the West Triton relief rig, stationed 1.2 miles (2km) away, were safe from the enormous blaze.

By anyone’s standards this is now a major environmental disaster, and politicians are baying for blood. At the same time there has been another hit to the reputation of the oil and gas industry, with confirmation of a second gas leak in the Timor Sea. Without doubt the next week will focus on who is to blame, and less attention will be focused on the enormity of the tragedy.

But other more probing questions have also started to work their way in the quiet background of public discourse.

Ten weeks into the uncontrolled and continuing oil and gas spill from the Montara wellhead, with anywhere from 10 to 20 million litres of oil spilled into the ocean, the Rapid Assessment of the Impacts of the Montara Oil Leak on Birds, Cetaceans and Marine Reptiles has positively identified at least 4 species of cetaceans - 462 individuals (along with 23 species of birds, 2 species of turtles and 4 species of sea snakes).

Andrew Crook, on Crikey.com, has asked will Timor Sea oil slick be curtains for bluefin tuna? Good question really, given the tuna's status is already precarious after decades of over fishing and the spill is in the bluefin spawning grounds. Perhaps his question will spark some further investigation in other areas of the media

The impacts for most marine life in this region are likely to be huge, and on this note WDCS has once again made a public comment into the media sphere “We strongly concur with the assessment recommendations a four-five year minimum time frame for the long term monitoring of the impact to cetacean behavior and populations numbers as a result of the spill, and in truth we believe it should be more like a decade. The Monitoring Plan is silent on the duration of commitment the Government has secured from industry. For all we can determine, they may monitor for a year and then walk away. A renegotiated plan must extend monitoring for at least ten years.” Dr Mike Bossley, WDCS Australasian Managing Director.

“We still don’t see the commitment we expect from the Australian Government. If they were serious about mitigating the threats of oil spills they would immediately freeze all new oil and gas exploration applications; develop much stronger conditions and controls over all oil and gas rig and shipping activities including contingency plans before approvals are given; and identify and fully protect all whale and dolphin critical habitats in a network of marine sanctuaries before any oil and gas acreage is released again” Dr Bossley concluded.

As we drag ourselves towards the bad news that week 11 will certainly hold, it is difficult to stay optimistic about this sad an sorry affair. But, to end this blog with some heart, the wonderful campaigners with the Wilderness Society in Australia staged an oil spill protest on Friday 30th October. Volunteers gathered in a colorful action to protest against the oil spill and campaign for greater protection of our the marine life in this region (which we Australians call The Kimberly). Thank you TWS!

Today dawned with an argument raging in the media about the failed attempts to cap the leak. There is no doubt in my mind that the industry want this leak stopped and I am sure that every attempt is being made to do so.

For my focus, every day that the spill continues brings more bad news for the species and ecosystems of this part of the world. It also brings disheartening news about how seriously this is being treated by the Australian Government

Last week the Government and industry released their joint West Atlas Monitoring Programme (15 October 2009) - six weeks after the spill started. Hooray we thought – now we can see the plan to recover some lost ground.

Saddly, even a cursory read of document reveals how much baseline information has to be gathered. The question immediately comes to mind - why was this not collected before the drilling began?

But, what remains the biggest thorn in the sideis that Government seems content to continue a line of denial about the scope of the impact.

Within the document are unsubstantiated statements that impacts of the oil spill on whales and dolphins 'remain unlikely'. The document claims that experts have been consulted, so why then does WDCS need to remind policy makers that marine animals can ingest oil-derived toxic compounds either directly from the water or with their food. That poisonous vapor can also be inhaled by whales and dolphins and especially when the volatile components evaporate into the air from freshly spilled oil.

With anywhere from 10 to 20 million litres of oil spilled into the ocean it is a good bet that there will be chronic longer-term effects of oil entering the food-chain potentially affecting the whole system. Much of this will happen far from sight and if whales or dolphins are killed or otherwise affected - days, months and years into the future - we are unlikely to be witness to this.

None of this information is particularly ground breaking nor new. We have know most of this information for a few decades.
Dolphins have been filmed moving through the slick. We know that many other species call this region home.

It is time that the Australian Government woke up to the full reality of this situation and imposed much stronger conditions and controls over all oil and gas rig and shipping activities in Australian waters.

And, doesn’t it seem sensible to know what is present first … before you decide the level of risk that you might destroying something?