The media is clearly being told that officials in Squamish have been unable to capture any of the oiled birds. However, Janice Dickie who is the Executive Director of Wildlife Rescue, stated tonight on CKNW's Nightline BC, that the groups who are trained to capture these birds (and do so all around the world without any trouble) have not even been called in yet to assist in Squamish! In the US and Western Europe, wildlife experts are typically on scene within 24 hours of a spill, but after several days of the disaster in Squamish, these groups have still not been called upon by our gov't to assist.
Here is a good example of the mis-information Janice Dickie alleges:
http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=news_home&articleID=2343798&lid=today+box
Up to 100 birds contaminated by oil spill off the B.C. coast
SQUAMISH, B.C (CP) - Officials monitoring an oil spill off the B.C. coast say up to 100 birds in the Squamish estuary have been affected.
It will take a number of days to see whether the bunker fuel that seeped into the estuary will make the birds sick, Dave Smith of the Canadian Wildlife Service said Monday.
Cleanup crews have attempted to capture birds soiled by the oil but have so far been unsuccessful. Comment: Cleanup crews are not trained to capture wildlife.
"All the birds flew into the air," he said. "You can't really do anything with birds unless you capture them. There's no way to do that until they're weakened to the point where they can be captured and that generally takes several days." Comment: Janice Dickie says time is crucial, and the longer the birds remained oiled, the less chance of survival. Waiting several days for them to get tired is like a death-sentence for these birds. Each time they preen themselves they ingest the bunker fuel and get poisoned.
Smith said trying to capture the birds is only putting more stress on them.Comment: Because they don't know how to do it! Why has the government still not called in the wildlife experts who could capture these birds?
More than 29,000 litres of heavy bunker oil spewed into the water after a cargo ship punctured a fuel tank while leaving port Friday.
The wind pushed it about 500 metres into Howe Sound, a stretch of water along the highway between Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler, and some seeped into the sensitive Squamish estuary.
Brian Clark with the B.C. Environment Ministry acknowledges that authorities are being criticized for downplaying the situation.
"The public perceptions is that we're doing nothing but we've been out there every day, we know where the birds are, we know where they're moving, so when they do get weak we'll be able to get there faster," Clark said. Comment: By then it may be too late to save the birds.
He added that otters in the area that may have been exposed to the oil appear to be healthy and free of contamination. Comment: But they will be ingesting fish which may be contaminated, and the otters will die of poisoning. That is a slow process and of course won't show up right away.
An estimated two-thirds of the oil has been recovered. About 90 cubic metres of oil debris has been collected and stored for shipment to a disposal location.
Parts of the shoreline and several recreational areas remain closed. The area is a popular spot for windsurfers.
A representative for the owner of the vessel that caused the slick said he has not consulted with local concerns that rely on the shoreline for business.
"There's no immediate plan or agreement in place for that kind of compensation," said David Jones. "Down the road those kinds of claims can be made and can be assessed according to the shipowners' responsibilities and obligations."
Coast guard spokesman Don Rodden said he's made recommendations on whether charges should be laid once the Transportation Safety Board has completed its investigation into incident.
© The Canadian Press, 2006