The Sunday Times News - Monitoring essential

According to environmentalists and the Coast Conservation Department, the long term implications of the oil spill, could be quite detrimental to the environment and must be monitored closely.

“The marine life that frequent the surface of the ocean such as, turtles, dolphins, sea birds and certain types of fish will be those worst affected ,” said Prasanna Weerakkody, a Marine Biologist, from the Nature Conservation Group, based in Rumassala. However he said as it wasn’t a major spill and as the vessel wasn’t an oil tanker, its immediate repercussions have not yet adversely affected the marine life or the reef adding that the full implications of the spill were yet to be ascertained.

Although the beach and vegetation clean up is being carried out, the problem area are the rocks where the oil has got clogged up in the crevices . He said the rock crabs in the area, especially were showing obvious signs of stress even though they were still alive.

Even the ‘Rock Hoppers’ (Bleenie), a type of fish largely found around rocky areas, seemed to be behaving a bit unusually, he said.

However, there doesn’t seem to be any significant impact on the mortality rate of the marine life. Also, of the few fish that have died, it’s only fish belonging to one particular family of fish that have been affected he said.

He said the chemicals that got mixed with the water as a result of the spill could have damaging effects on the metabolism and reproductive functions of all the vertebrates and the eco system, in the long run. As for toxicity related issues (e.g. clogged gills etc…) he warned that many of the affected fish may even die in the weeks to come. Furthermore, it still remains a mystery why there have been no fish (dead or alive) in the rock pools in the area, after the spill, he said.

Although it’s not a proven fact, going by previous experiences, there has been a general tendency for a rapid growth of algae on the reef. If this were to happen then it could affect the coral and other marine life in the months to come-- “especially as the coral reefs are already under a lot of stress ever since the 1998 bleaching incident,” he said.

As for the coastal vegetation which generally stabilises the sand, the affected areas are being cut out and cleaned alongside the beach clean up operation.

However, in certain mangroves in the area, there is up to four inches of oil deposited and the areas will have to be monitored closely for effects of pollution he warned.

“This was not a major spill but it could serve as an eye opener as to whether we are equipped to handle a major spill. Our capacity to act fast to remedy the situation may still be lacking. For instance, it’s essential to monitor the oil slick formation and its course of direction right from the time the vessel sinks, rather than wait for the slick to hit the shore,” explained Mr. Weerakkody. “Although there are authorities such as the Marine Pollution Prevention Authority (MPPA), the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) and the Coast Conservation Department (CCD) that rise to the occasion, we are yet not up to the mark, to face of such a crisis,” he emphasised.

Acting Director of the Coast Conservation Department - K.D.D. Wijewardena says that the beach has now been cleaned up to a great extent and the Koggala lagoon clean-up too is underway.

“The rock clean up however, is the most difficult operation as it requires either scraping off or high pressure spraying,” he added.