U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Response to Vessel Grounding/Oil Spill off Unalaska Island

December 16, 2004: Weather continues to hamper wildlife survey and rescue operations, with winds of up to 30 mph once again making it impossible to land skiffs and on the beach to conduct shoreline surveys. The limited local daylight, with sunrise at 10:21 a.m. and sunset at 2:44 p.m., adds to the challenges of conducting field work. Survey work continued to be conducted by skiff in Skan Bay. During those surveys six Steller’s eiders were observed. These birds were not reported to be oiled, but were sighted on the water within 100 yards of visible heavy oil. In addition, the skiff-based biologists observed one oiled harbor seal, 3 oiled crested auklets, and one oiled common murre. It is uncertain whether any of these has been captured.

The Cape Flattery, which will be home to the Service biologists until they are able to transfer to the Exito, will spend tonight in Skan Bay and, weather permitting, move north to Anderson Bay tomorrow. Biologists will begin surveying that area, in skiffs and on shore if weather allows, tomorrow. The Exito, a 124’ crabber, is enroute and will, upon arrival, replace the Cape Flattery as the base for wildlife operations.

In addition, we received a report that one live, oiled crested auklet was picked up today and will be flown to Dutch Harbor for treatment; and four dead and unidentified birds, oiled and badly scavenged, were picked up as well.

Oiled birds already returned to Dutch Harbor have reportedly responded well to treatment, and two were flown to Anchorage for further care yesterday. More information on these birds will be available from the International Bird Rescue Research Center’s website.

New maps, showing the estimated locations of wildlife resources in relation to oil and other spill materials, can be found under “Extent of Oiling Observations” on the Unified Command website.

Also, today we received the first formal Wildlife Survey and Rescue Observation Log from Service biologists in the field. This log provides a more definitive account of wildlife sightings during fieldwork conducted on December 14, 2004. It includes, adds to, and confirms information that appeared in prior daily reports. We will continue to append these Logs to our daily reports as they are available.

Wildlife Survey and Rescue Log: December 14, 2004

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists conducted skiff-based wildlife survey and rescue operations on December 14, 2004. The operations took place within Skan Bay. The two-person team reported that conditions for the survey were relatively good deep within the bay, though the weather worsened as the day progressed, to include downdrafts, williwaws, and mixed snow and rain. Winds outside the bay were from the NE at 40-60 knots.

The skiff surveys were completed over a period of two hours, from approximately 11:45 am to 1:45 pm. All wildlife observations and pick-ups were performed from the skiff, as—even within the bay—weather conditions made beach landings inadvisable.

Three marine mammal species were observed; including 2 sea otters, an unidentified whale (likely a minke), and a harbor seal. Biologists were unable to assess the conditions of the otters, which were very evasive and avoided the skiff, or the whale, which only appeared for a single blow. The harbor seal, though not confirmed as oiled at the time, was swimming in an area that contained oiled birds.

Bird species observed on Dec. 14th included harlequin ducks (100), pelagic cormorants (17), common ravens (2), bald eagles (2), double-crested cormorants (1), emperor geese (4), glaucous-winged gulls (6), horned grebes (1), red-necked grebes (1), unidentified cormorants (1), rock sandpipers (1), pigeon guillemots (2), and black scoters (1).

Species among those sighted that included oiled birds included harlequin ducks, pelagic cormorants, glaucous-winged gulls, pigeon guillemots, and black scoter.

Oiled birds captured: 1 pelagic cormorant, 1 horned grebe, and 1 common murre.