a contingency research plan for just such an event under the sponsorship of 

 the Bureau of Land Management, doi» through the Outer Continental Shelf 

 Environmental Assessment Program managed by NOAA. It was the existence of 

 this plan, as well as the intense participation of 14 NOAA and U.S. Coast 

 Guard staff members who were thoroughly familiar with the scientific procedures 

 and goals outlined in the plan, that enabled a concentrated, comprehensive 

 research effort to begin in earnest only 27 hours after the grounding. On 

 December 17, coordination meetings were held with marine scientists from local 

 research institutions to determine the resources available and to develop an 

 immediate sampling program. Constant contact was maintained between the 

 participating organizations to ensure that activities remained coordinated. 



On January 3 and 4, 1977, a meeting of the scientists involved in 

 investigating the Avgo Mevchant spill was convened to develop criteria for the 

 next phase of investigation into the fate of the oil. As a result of that 

 meeting, a single chemical analysis network was agreed upon for the analysis 

 of all the water sediment and biota samples that had been taken up to that 

 date and would be taken in the next 6 weeks. The meeting also resulted in a 

 plan for a survey to culminate the initial field activities by assessing the 

 amount of oil that remained in the water colimin and determining which benthic 

 areas were contaminated. Because of the continued coordination among the 

 participating scientists, the research activities remained cohesive and were 

 able to yield the results summarized above. Although preliminary in nature, 

 these results are nevertheless quite definitive and broad in scope. 



In conclusion, the outcome of the Avgo Merchant oil spill appears to have 

 been fortunate in several respects: (1) the winds were almost continuously 

 offshore, preventing the oil from coming on the beaches; (2) the density of 

 the oil was low enough so that it did not sink and contaminate the bottom; and 

 (3) the spill occurred in the winter, when biological activity, productivity, 

 and fishing activities are relatively low. At another time, the effects of a 

 similar oil spill might have been much more serious. 



