Grounded Freighter Scars the Great Barrier Reef

Stern scrape from the Shen Neng 1 / photograph courtesy of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

About a week ago, the Shen Neng 1, a Chinese-owned freighter, ran aground on Australia's Great Barrier Reef and started leaking fuel. The four tons of oil that spilled from the ship created a two-mile slick over the reef. Australian officials were successful in refloating the ship, and the good news is that they were able to do it without spilling any additional oil. Unfortunately, the ship left behind a two-mile scar in the reef.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) chief scientist David Wachenfeld fears it could take 20 years for the reef to recover.

"This is by far the largest ship grounding scar we have seen on the Great Barrier Reef to date," he said.

"This vessel did not make an impact in one place and rest there and then was pulled off.

"This scar is more in the region of 3km long and up to 250 metres wide."

The recovery time could be longer because the hull's anti-fouling paint, meant to discourage marine organisms from growing on ships, scraped off onto the reef.

"An optimistic estimate would be, if there were no chemical contamination at this site, that it would take (the reef) 10 to 20 years to recover," Dr Wachenfeld said.

"That paint is quite likely to have heavy metals in it.

"That would really put a much longer timeframe on recovery because that paint would be stopping any plants and animals from recolonising."

The image at the top of the post shows a portion of the scarring; you can see more images of it here. Marine scientists are still exploring the damage, and its full extent may not be known for some time. Effects of oil spills can linger in an ecosystem long after the ship and its visible oil slick is removed. For example, residual petrochemicals are still detectable in the Harlequin Ducks of Prince William Sound, more than 20 years after the Exxon Valdez disaster. That is why it is so disturbing to see an incident like this happen in such a globally important biodiversity hotspot.

As if the scar were not enough, some of the spilled oil is washing up on a nature sanctuary.

Conservationists describe North West Island as a globally important nesting site for seabirds and green and loggerhead turtles, which are currently hatching and travelling down the beach.

Darren Kindleysides, director of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said even small amounts of oil can affect wildlife.

"We're not talking about a supertanker going aground and releasing tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of oil," he said.

"But we are talking about oil reaching a coral cay which is globally important for seabird breeding and the nesting of green and loggerhead turtles.

"Unfortunately this is the time of year we have turtle hatchlings going down the beach... so that is a real concern."

Australian leaders have expressed outrage at the incident since the ship first ran aground. Yesterday, police arrested two of the crew members.

The Australian Federal Police said they had arrested the ship's master and chief officer-on-watch and that the two Chinese men will appear in court in Queensland state on Thursday.

"Investigations showed that the Shen Neng 1 failed to turn at a waypoint required by the intended course of the ship. A waypoint is a location at which a ship is to alter course," the federal police said in a statement.

The 44-year-old crewman in charge of the watch faces a maximum three years jail and/or a A$220,000 ($205,000) fine. The 47-year-old master faces a A$55,000 fine.

The company that owns the ship, Shenzhen Energy Group, could face additional fines and will have to pay for cleanup costs.

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In other ocean news, DNA testing found that whale meat caught by Japanese whalers was served in restaurants in South Korea and the United States. Japan permits whaling under the guise of scientific research and allows the meat to be sold as food. However, sale of whale meat is illegal in both the United States and South Korea. Sei whale meat sold in a Los Angeles restaurant and fin whale meat sold in a Seoul restaurant both matched similar products sold in Japan. Minke whales caught in Japanese hunts have also been linked to international trade. The findings may increase international pressure to tighten restrictions on hunting protected whale species.

Obama Allows More Coastal Drilling on the Alaska and Atlantic Coasts

Yesterday, the Obama administration announced that it would open much more coastline to oil and natural gas exploration. The Atlantic coast would be opened from Florida north to Delaware, more of the eastern Gulf of Mexico would be available, and the Chuckchi and Beaufort Seas in Alaska would be opened. The southern half of Florida and the northeastern Atlantic coast (from New Jersey northward) would remain closed to drilling. Likewise, the entire Pacific Coast from California to Washington would remain closed. Meanwhile, Bristol Bay in Alaska will become a protected area and closed to drilling.

Obama justified the move in terms of energy independence:

"This is not a decision that I've made lightly," Obama said at Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base, near the capital. He was staged beside the "Green Hornet," a Navy fighter jet designed to run on a fuel mix of half biomass. He also discussed administration policies to make automobiles more fuel efficient and to develop "clean coal" and alternative energy supplies.

Obama said his plan "is part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy. And the only way this transition will succeed is if it strengthens our economy in the short term and long term. To fail to recognize this reality would be a mistake."

I would feel better about this development if it were announced as part of a compromise that would bring significant action on climate change. Since this is being done well in advance of voting on any climate bill in the Senate, it is not clear how much of a political difference it will make. Sen. Lindsey Graham had some positive things to say about the move, but he did not make any public commitments regarding a climate bill. Most of his Republican colleagues were still not satisfied. The move may be calculated to please moderate and conservative Democrats, though again there were no public commitments from them regarding a climate bill. As with the health care bill, Democrats have prematurely conceded one of their potential bargaining chips.

Ken Salazar spoke yesterday morning as if cap and trade is dead.

"I think the term 'cap and trade' is not in the lexicon anymore," Salazar said, adding that supporters -- including senators working on legislation -- will focus more on ideas such as slowing pollution, creating jobs and becoming energy independent. "It's in that context" the Senate will move forward, he said.

A spokeswoman later clarified that he was only referring to the phrase "cap and trade," but that still leaves how the administration plans to slow and reverse carbon emissions as an open question.

Even if oil companies take advantage of the new drilling opportunities, it is unclear how much they will be able to produce. The most optimistic estimate has 4 billion barrels of oil and 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the newly opened areas, which represents a fraction of US energy needs. Even then, it would take decades to study potential deposits and implement drilling plans. The USGS will study coastal areas first, to identify tracts that might be amenable to energy development. Oil companies will then be able to bid for development leases. The eastern Gulf of Mexico is the area that seems most promising.

Offshore oil development carries substantial environmental risks. A worst-case scenario would be an event like the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969, when 80,000-100,000 gallons of crude oil leaked from an oil rig into the channel and onto California beaches. That is an extreme case, but offshore rigs are constantly at risk, particularly in hurricane-prone areas like the Gulf of Mexico or southern Atlantic coast. Last fall, an oil rig off the northwest coast of Australia leaked oil for months and eventually caught fire.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, new offshore oil exploration would threaten wildlife.

Oil development in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, home to all of America’s polar bears, is strongly opposed by conservation groups as no technologies exist to clean up oil spills in icy waters. Oil development in the Beaufort Sea would likely also be visible from the shores of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Today’s plan would allow existing leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas to move forward while the remainder of these areas would be subject to additional leasing following further environmental studies.

The only bright spot in today’s announcement was that a lease sale proposed in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, within critical habitat for the North Pacific right whale, the world’s most endangered whale, would be cancelled. However, important habitat for the similarly endangered North Atlantic right whale would be opened in its stead.

So far I have not seen any support for this move among environmentalists; in fact, criticism has been fairly strong, with petitions against the move circulating from several organizations. (For example, here is one from Oceana.) I hope that this will solidify support for a climate bill from moderate senators, but I have my doubts.

ESA Protections for Loggerhead Sea Turtle and Kaua'i Endemics

Last week, I expressed some frustration with the Obama's administration's record on endangered species after it placed Greater Sage-Grouse on the list of candidates. Up to that point, only two species had been listed under the Endangered Species Act since Obama took office, while 249 species have been sitting on the candidate list. This week that changed in a big way, with two announcements.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle at Archie Carr NWR / Photo by Ryan Hagerty (USFWS)

First, the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a joint proposal to list the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) under the Endangered Species Act. Loggerhead Sea Turtle has nine distinct populations around the world. Of these, two will be designated as threatened and seven as endangered. The two populations that occur in U.S. waters, the North Pacific and Northwest Atlantic populations, will both be designated as endangered. Loggerhead Sea Turtles worldwide are currently classified as threatened; the new listing is in response to petitions regarding the two U.S. populations.

This is a proposed rather than final rule, so it will undergo a public comment period first. If you wish to comment on the proposed listing, you can do so at www.regulations.gov until June 14, 2010. Once the Loggerhead is listed as endangered, the government will be required to designate critical habitat to protect feeding areas in the ocean and nesting areas on beaches.

‘Akeke‘e (Loxops caeruleirostris) / Painting by John Gerrard Keulemans

Second, 48 endemic species from the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i were listed as a group since they share habitats and have similar threats. This action addresses some of the backlog in listing petitions. An ecosystem approach is particularly suitable for Hawaii since so many vulnerable species occur in a relatively small area. It provides a way for the government to protect entire ecosystems rather than the narrow ranges where a species is known to be found. The USFWS plans to list new species by ecosystem on other islands in the next few years.

The 48 newly listed species (pdf) include 45 plants, 1 insect, and 2 birds. Among the 45 plants are several that have not been seen for several years, though they still exist in remote areas. One plant, Diellia manii, was considered extinct until its recent rediscovery. The insect is Drosophila sharpi, a Hawaiian picture-wing fly. The two birds are ‘Akeke‘e (Loxops caeruleirostris) and ‘Akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi). Both are Hawaiian honeycreepers and members of the finch family. They may be better known as Kaua'i 'Akepa and Kaua'i Creeper. These species had appeared stable until the mid-20th century, when both populations suffered precipitous declines. There are now about 3,500 'Akeke'e and 1,300 'Akikiki.

Along with listing the 48 endangered species, the USFWS designated critical habitat for 47 of them. The critical habitat covers 26,582 acres in six ecosystem types, 98% of which overlaps the critical habitat already designated for other endangered or threatened species. Most is on state-owned lands. Critical habitat was not designated for one palm species because it is a prized plant for collections; the USFWS was concerned that designating critical habitat might alert collectors to its location.