The Heiltsuk First Nation says it’s afraid that diesel fuel spilled from a sunken tug off British Columbia’s Central Coast is affecting wildlife and the food supply of its people.
It points to the discovery of dead animals in the area.
Orcas swim near a response vessel working to clean up spilled diesel fuel from the Nathan E. Stewart. (Tavish Campbell)
The tugboat Nathan E. Stewart was carrying more than 200,000 litres of diesel when it ran aground and sank about 28 kilometres from Bella Bella on Oct. 13.
A situation report says the volume of the spill is still being calculated based on what has been recovered or cleaned up, but current estimates show 105,000 litres of fuel leaked.
@SalishSeaFuture Yes. It’s there, it’s shifting with the tides, it’s still hitting new beaches, it’s popping up in new locations…
The Heiltsuk First Nation says humpback whales, sea otters and marine birds continue to be spotted near, and in, the sheen, while wildlife assessment teams have spotted a dead seal, a dead sea otter and dead crabs in the past week.
The situation report says some of the dead species have been collected for testing to determine what specifically caused their death, but adds no wildlife covered in oil or fuel have been documented.
The Nathan E. Stewart, owned by Kirby Offshore Marine, sits in the waters off Bella Bella on Oct. 28, 2016. (Tavish Campbell)
Kelly Brown, director of the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department, says it is “disturbing” to see the community’s food and the marine life appear to be so severely affected.
Launches investigation into the grounding of the tug Nathan E. Stewart and tanker barge DBL 55 in BC https://t.co/6FVwNtpPpY