M/V Kuroshima Oil Spill
On November 26, 1997 the M/V Kuroshima, a 368-foot frozen seafood freighter,
broke free from its anchorage in hurricane-force winds and ran aground
in Summers Bay on Unalaska Island. An estimated 39,000 gallons of Bunker
C fuel oil spilled from the freighter. Resources injured by the spill
included at least 15 species of birds, three species of Pacific salmon,
Dolly Varden, shellfish and other intertidal species, vegetation, and
recreational uses.
Trustees for the Kuroshima incident include the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior (including
the Fish and Wildlife Service), and the State of Alaska, working in
consultation with the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska. NOAA, as federal
lead 
administrative
trustee for this damage assessment, maintains a website with more comprehensive information about the spill and
damage assessment.
The Kuroshima
Restoration Plan (pdf - 7,336kb) was developed by federal and state natural
resource trustees in consultation with the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska.
This plan was finalized in May 2002, following a public comment period.
The Service’s role in the restoration is to restore native seabird
populations impacted by the spill. This will be accomplished by removing
non-native foxes that prey on seabirds from a nearby island. In 2002,
the Service conducted an initial survey of bird populations on Avatanak
Island, to establish a population baseline. Foxes were removed beginning
in 2004. Post-restoration monitoring of bird populations was conducted
in 2007 to evaluate success of the project.
