Prestige disaster bad omen for Atlantic Canada

At the same time, the Spanish government argues that the affected area is recovering well. The poor response to one of the worst globally televised disasters ever could be bad news for efforts to save Atlantic Canada’s marine environment from further ecological damage.

The WWF report — The Prestige: one year on, a continuing disaster — reveals that 64,000 tonnes of oil were spilled — 60 percent more than initially estimated. In addition to the 13,000 tonnes of oil remaining in the wreck, 5,000 to 10,000 tonnes of oil are drifting offshore and periodically landing on the coast. Damage to fishing and related economic sectors along 3,000 km of coastline may last for over a decade and cost approximately €5 billion, with society at large paying 97.5 percent of it. Around 30,000 people in the fishery and shellfish sectors have been directly affected. After the fisheries were reopened — too early according to WWF — some local fishermen’s organizations reported an 80 percent drop of their normal catch. Some 300,000 seabirds (mainly common guillemots, Atlantic puffins and razorbills) are estimated to have died from the oil spill.

In response, the Spanish government continues to declare the situation under control. “This looks like a cover-up rather than a clean-up,” said Raul Garcia from WWF-Spain. WWF is also concerned that total investment on research into the Prestige oil spill will probably not reach €10 million, compared with around €270 million for research into the impact of the Exxon Valdez spill.

“The news is not good for Canada’s Atlantic marine region,” says WWF-Canada Atlantic Marine Program Director Dr. Robert Rangeley. “Some 300,000 seabirds are killed every year through deliberate discharges of oil from ships — about the same number as killed through the Prestige spill. But neither the world nor Canada are properly reacting. If the Prestige disaster can’t wake people up, then the future for Atlantic Canada’s seabird wildlife looks grim.”

WWF’s global solutions for preventing future oil disasters, be they in Spain or Canada, are consistent. One, it is crucially important to strengthen maritime safety legislation to minimize the risk of oil spillage. Two, marine protected areas must be established to ensure that industrial accidents do not affect precious natural resources. WWF-Canada urges the government to implement stronger enforcement and surveillance measures in Atlantic Canada to prevent bilge oil dumping and officially designate marine protected areas such as The Gully off the Nova Scotia coast.

The Prestige tanker sank on 19 November 2002, after an erratic six-day drift near the Galician coast.