Carter and Kuletz 



Chapter 26 



Mortality Due to Oil Pollution 



Marbled Murrelets in Alaska. Large oil spills cannot be 

 effectively contained, and rehabilitation efforts can be costly 

 and of limited value to affected populations. Brachyramphus 

 murrelets comprised only 2.4 percent of the total number of 

 birds brought to rehabilitation centers during the spill (Wood 

 and Heaphy 1991). Murrelets did not respond well to 

 rehabilitation efforts. Only 3 of 33 Marbled and 2 of 6 Kittlitz's 

 murrelets survived to be released (Wood, pers. comm.). 

 compared to 51 percent released of all 1,630 treated birds. 

 Wood and Heaphy ( 1991 ) concluded that murrelets had a low 

 tolerance for capture and rehabilitation. Necropsies revealed 

 enlarged adrenal glands, indicating stress-induced mortality. 

 The Exxon Valdez oil spill affected regions of Alaska 

 with some of the highest recorded murrelet densities in the 

 world. Prince William Sound is the northernmost extension 

 of the coniferous rainforest on the west coast of North 

 America. There is no doubt that the spill has been a 

 contributing factor to population decline in Prince William 

 Sound over the past 20 years, along with other factors (Carter 

 and others, this volume; Klosiewski and Laing 1994; Piatt 

 and Naslund. this volume). The threat from future oil spills 

 remains. Since 1989, several near catastrophes already have 

 occurred in Prince William Sound. A spill similar to the 

 Exxon Valdez during the peak breeding season has the potential 

 to risk three to four times the number of murrelets that were 

 present in Prince William Sound in late March 1989. 



Large Oil Spills in California, Oregon, 

 Washington, and British Columbia 



Between the late 1800s and 1968, medium and large 

 oil spills occurred frequently, but were rarely documented 

 with respect to seabird mortality in California, Oregon, 

 Washington, and British Columbia. In most cases, the 

 source of the spilled oil was not determined. Few reports of 

 murrelet mortality during this period are available. In spring 

 1929, 15 oiled murrelets were found dead on a 0.4 km 

 section of beach at Crescent Beach, British Columbia, after 

 a fuel oil spill that occurred weeks earlier and extended 

 from Vancouver to at least Crescent Beach on the Canada- 

 U.S. border (Racey 1930, Rodway and others 1992). In 

 March 1937, 14 Marbled Murrelets (as well as five other 

 unidentified murrelets) were found dead on beaches after 

 the tanker Frank H. Buck oil spill near San Francisco, 

 California (Aldrich 1938, Moffitt and Orr 1938). In 

 September 1956, one Marbled Murrelet was found dead on 

 beaches searched after a spill from the freighter Seagate on 

 the outer coast of Washington, near Point Grenville 

 (Richardson 1956). There is no way to quantify historical 

 losses or fully assess the impact of these losses on murrelet 

 populations based on available data. They serve to 

 demonstrate that oil pollution has been affecting murrelet 

 populations for many decades. 



Since 1968, several large and medium oil spills have 

 occurred for which seabird mortality was estimated. These 

 spills are discussed below (see figure 2 for general locations). 



1969 Santa Barbara: In January 1969, a large spill (3-5 

 million gallons) of crude oil resulted from an offshore well 

 blow-out off Santa Barbara, California. Oil spread throughout 

 the Santa Barbara Channel area between January and August 

 (Nash and others 1972, Steinhart and Steinhart 1972). No 

 oiled murrelets were recorded dead on beaches but large 

 numbers of other birds were reported (Straughan 1971). 

 Murrelets occur only in small numbers in this area at all 

 times of year. 



1971 Anacortes: In April 1971, a large spill (204,600 

 gallons [gals]; 4,870 barrels [bbls]) of diesel oil resulted 

 from an accident at a Texaco onshore facility while loading 

 a barge near Anacortes, Washington (Chia 1971). Although 

 at least 460 dead and live seabirds were recovered, mortality 

 to marine birds was not properly assessed and no oiled 

 murrelets were recorded. 



1971 San Francisco: A large spill (810,000 gals; 19,300 

 bbls) of bunker oil occurred in the entrance to the Golden 

 Gate near San Francisco when a Chevron oil tanker struck 

 another vessel in January 1971. No murrelets were reported 

 from this winter spill, but efforts were focused on rehabilitating 

 live oiled birds recovered on beaches (Smail and others 

 1972). The lack of recovery of murrelets in January 1971 

 may also reflect a population decline in this area since the 

 March 1937 Frank H. Buck oil spill (Carter and Erickson 

 1988). The latter spill occurred in the same area and at the 

 same general time of year, and yet several murrelet carcasses 

 were recovered in the earlier spill. 



1978 Toyota Maru: In 1978, a fuel oil spill of 30,000- 

 58,000 gals (715-1380 bbls) occurred from the vessel Toyota 

 Maru just east of Portland along the Columbia River, Oregon 

 (Nelson and others 1992). No documentation of impacts to 

 birds was undertaken. 



1 983 Blue Magpie: A medium spill of 69,000 gals ( 1 ,643 

 bbls) from the vessel Blue Magpie occurred in Yaquina Bay, 

 Oregon, in November 1983 (Bayer 1988, Burger and Fry 

 1993, Nelson and others 1992). At least two (and possibly 

 four) oiled murrelets were recovered on beaches over a wide 

 stretch of coast in Clatsop, Tillamook, and Lincoln counties. 



1984 Mobiloil: In March 1984, a medium spill of about 

 200,000 gals (4,700 bbls) of mixed oils occurred from the 

 tanker Mobiloil about 88 miles inland along the Columbia 

 River, Oregon, near St. Helens (Burger and Fry 1993, Nelson 

 and others 1992, Speich and Thompson 1987). The oil 

 travelled to the ocean and extended north to Grays Harbor. A 

 total of 450 birds were recovered although a complete damage 

 assessment was not conducted. No oiled murrelets were 

 reported. However, one dead oiled murrelet was found during 

 monthly beached bird surveys on 20 June 1984 on Ocean 

 Park Beach, Washington according to Lippert (Speich, pers. 

 comm.). This beach was well within the spill zone and oiled 

 birds were noted from March to August in this vicinity. This 

 murrelet was probably killed by the Mobiloil spill and, if so, 

 we suspect that more murrelets could have been affected. 



1984 Whidbey Island: In December 1984, a spill (5,000 

 gals; 120 bbls) of fuel oil at the south end of Whidbey Island, 



USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-152. 1995. 



265 



