294 



"According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a large quantity of oil was 

 lost at the time of the impact, which resulted in the blackening of Nantucket 

 Island. The ship proceeded to her destination. New Haven Harbor, and arrived 

 during the evening of December 17. Pumping activities were started early the 

 next morning and were completed by noon the following day, 



"It has been estimated that upwards of 240,000 gallons of bunker "C" oil was 

 lost, with a conservative estimate of over 42,000 gallons spilling into the confines 

 of the New Haven Harbor. The oil quickly spread itself out upon the waters 

 of the harbor, breaking up into pools and slicks, coating bulkheads, seawalls, 

 and beaches with black. Incoming tides carried it to upper shores reaches and 

 then receded, leaving pools which in some areas were 4-5 inches deep. Approxi- 

 mately 10 miles of shorelines were blackened in the Great New Haven Harbor 

 area. Within a week, marks of the spillage could be observed extending along 

 approximately 20 miles of shorelines from Guilford to Milford. Evidence of the 

 spillage was present on many of the off-shore islands in the entire area. 



"The Connecticut State Board of Fisheries and Game became aware of the 

 problem on Tuesday evening, December 20. Investigations were initiated the 

 following morning to determine the extent of the damage to wildlife. 



"The first affected birds observed, while few in number, served for department 

 game biologists as a grim warning of what might be expected in the days to 

 come. Immediate efforts were made to initiate a clean-up operation and a series 

 of contracts with the oil company and municipal officials and landowners was 

 made in an attempt to expedite clean-up. But as negotiations proceeded the 

 ddath toll grew. Dead, oil-encased birds appeared with greater frequency along 

 the shore. Except for body form, these black, shrouded shapes with not a feather 

 visible could hardy be recognized as ducks. 



"A census of dead ducks was started on December 21. At the end of the first 

 week of the investigation, 995 dead ducks had been counted in the Greater New 

 Haven Harbor area. Of the dead ducks counted, approximately 400, or 40 percent 

 were dabbling ducks, and 595, or 60 percent were diving species. Virtually all of 

 the dabblers seen were black ducks with only a few, one mallard and two 

 baldpates observed. The dead diving ducks counted included approximately 300, 

 or 30 percent, scaup, 140, or 14 percent, goldeneyes, 60, or 6 percent, canvasbacks, 

 and the remaining 10 percent included 35 scoters, 30 old squaw, 20 bufflehead, 

 and 10 mergansers. 



"In addition to ducks, other species affected included herring gulls, horned 

 grebe, loon, purple sandpiper, cormorant, clapper rail, and kildeer. 



"Biologists estimated through reports and observations that at the time when 

 the count of dead birds in the Harbor area was completed, an additional 3,000 

 ducks had been affected. Of the total 4,000 birds affected, including 995 known 

 dead at the end of the first week after censusing was started, it was estimated 

 that 2,860, or 75 percent, consisted of scaup ; 500, or 12 percent, or black ducks, 

 including only a few mallard and baldpate ; 340, or 9 percent, goldeneyes, and the 

 remaining 7 percent were made up of 85 caiivasbacks, 80 scoters, 90 old squaw, 

 30 bufflehead, and 15 mergansers. 



"Spot checks of hunter bags were made from December 22, 1960, through the 

 end of the gunning season on January 7, 1961. These bag checks, which were 

 taken in an area extending approximately 20 miles both east and West from 

 the New Haven Harbor, disclosed 185 oiled ducks of the 358 ducks killed, or 

 approximately 52 percent oiled ducks for the entire area. During the period 

 from December 22 to December 31, 1960, 55 percent of 293 ducks killed were 

 oiled. During the period from January 2, through January 7, 1961, 35 percent 

 of 65 birds killed were oiled. 



"During the aerial inventory of waterfowl by Department personnel on Janu- 

 ary 9, 1961, 33,187 ducks were observed in the 20 mile oil-contaminated area 

 from Guilford to Milford. Species represented in this count consisted of: 1,462 

 blacks, 200 mallards, 20,150 scaup, 220 canvasbacks, 112 scoters, 28 goldeneyes, 

 8 old squaw, 5 mergansers, 2 bufflehead. 



It is a reasonable assumption that many of these ducks seen in the oil- 

 contaminated area were affected by oil to varying degrees and could raise the 

 total affected by many thousand. 



From observations conducted when the oil spillage first occurred, through the 

 end of the hunting season and during the abnormally cold x)eriod in January and 

 February, it is conservatively estimated that at least 3,000 ducks perished as a 

 result of being oiled. 



