LARGE numbers of whales, dolphins, turtles and sea birds are feeding in waters polluted by the massive oil spill off the West Australian coast and are likely to be at ''immediate risk'', a new report released by the federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, reveals.
A leading ecologist, James Watson, was commissioned by Mr Garrett's department to spend days surveying the marine life in the waters surrounding the oil lease - owned by the Thai company PTTEP - which has been leaking in the Timor Sea for nine weeks. Dr Watson's report says ''the presence of dying birds and dead sea snakes suggest that there is an immediate risk to species utilising the water that has been affected by the oil slick''.
Dr Watson and his team spent three days surveying waters covered by oil seeing thousands of birds, hundreds of dolphins and whales and many more animals feeding there. ''Some animals are unable to survive due to this oil slick.'' he said yesterday. ''In a rapid survey, we were able to come across dying animals.''
Dr Watson said on nearby Ashmore Reef, a marine reserve, his team found 17 dead birds, some with large amounts of oil on them.
After seeing the scale of the oil slick, which is spread over 4223square kilometres, Dr Watson told the Herald: ''I am amazed at how little Australia really cares about this. This is a huge oil slick.''
The well in the Montara oil field has been leaking 400 barrels of oil a day, by the company's estimate, since August 21 after an accident at the site. The leak is now entering its 10th week and the company conceded on Thursday it was unlikely to be contained for several more weeks.
Dr Watson said the presence of marine life in the oil spill area was extraordinary. ''There were more birds, more whales, more sea snakes in areas that contained oil than in areas that didn't. There needs to be a lot more monitoring done before we know the full extent of this oil slick because it's enormous.''
The report highlights the impact of the spill at a time when many birds are breeding on the nearly marine reserves of Ashmore and Cartier reefs. This month, migrating birds will also be flying across the slick escaping the northern winter.
The survey team found that many seabirds were being attracted to the spill rather than avoiding it.
''We observed that this increase in bird activity corresponded with the greater activity of larger fish (jumping and schooling) in oil-affected areas and we surmise that the presence of a light oil sheen may attract fish which then attracts some species of birds,'' the report found.
''A commonly sighted phenomenon was large groups of noddies flying around strips of oil and feeding in, and around, these patches of water.''
Mr Garrett said yesterday he was very concerned about the spill: ''I share the frustrations that efforts to get this spill stopped have so far not been successful.'' He backed Dr Watson's recommendation for continuing long-term monitoring of the spill's impact.
But Dr Watson said its extent and the failure to contain the spill raised serious concerns about the level of protection for marine life off the north-west Australian coast as oil and gas drilling expands. ''It makes me think what are the long-term plans for the north-west coast? If this was to happen closer to breeding humpback whale nurseries off the Kimberley, that could have a significant impact.''
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Thousands of dead fish and clumps of oil have been found drifting near Indonesia's coastline more than two months after an underwater well began leaking in the Timor Sea, officials and fishermen said.
An estimated 400 barrels a day of oil has been leaking from a fissure that erupted on Aug. 21 at a rig about 150 miles (250 kilometers) off the Australian coast. PTTEP Australasia, a branch of Thai-owned PTT Exploration and Production Co. Ltd., has failed repeatedly to stop the leak but says it is still trying.
The head of the World Wildlife Fund Australia, Gilly Llewellyn, said Friday that the early impact of the spill is beginning to become clear.
''This is shaping up to be one of the largest (spills) in Australian history,'' Llewellyn said in an interview. ''It is one of the most diverse marine habitats in the world. The impact could be over weeks, months, years.''
It is still unclear how far the spill has actually spread because much of it may be undersea, Llewellyn said.
But a slick has drifted hundreds of miles (kilometers) toward the impoverished Indonesian province of East Nusatenggara, where fishermen say they have seen thousands of dead fish drifting.
Residents in the seaside villages of Nunkolo and Bandi, located on small islands off the coast of West Timor, were suffering skin problems and acute diarrhea after eating contaminated fish, local environmental groups said.
''Fishermen have been facing serious difficulties for the past month,'' Ferdi Tanoni, chairman of the West Timor Care Foundation, said. ''Villagers' income dropped by 80 percent because many fish died or smelled oily.''
If estimates of the amount of oil leakage per day are accurate, the current size of the spill would have reached nearly 1.2 million gallons (more than 5.3 million liters).
There are fears it could harm whales, turtles and dolphins -- some of them rare -- living in the deep waters.
Several dead sea snakes and birds have been found in oil and are believed to have been killed by the slick, although tests have not yet determined the cause of death, Llewellyn said.
Samples taken by West Timor's Regional Environmental Agency in waters roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the coast found high concentrations of oil and, in one out of every four tests, dead fish.
Not sounding good but it needs to looked at. The slick is supposedly heading west i thought.I'm sure the main flow heads that way but it depends on a few factors. Bait fish gather under and around anything that floats and all life is curious.Birds and sea creatures will go in for a look and small fish hide amongst the shapes and patterns the oil makes on the water.Sea snakes often swim on the surface at night.
Another leak covered up for seven weeks at a site close to PTTEP's Montara leak site.
Death Toll Rises at Oil Spill
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