QUITO, Ecuador (19 June 2002) -- Following the publication earlier this month of a study estimating that the Jessica oil spill killed 15,000 Galapagos marine iguanas, Guayaquil Supreme Court judge Miguel Felix reopened the investigative phase of a lawsuit filed by the Galapagos National Park lawsuit. The Galapagos National Park has filed a US$14 million lawsuit against Petroecuador, Ecuador's state-owned oil company and owner of the spilled oil, ship insurer Teranova, ship owner Acotramar and ship Capt. Tarquino Arevalo. The tanker Jessica, which was carrying bunker fuel for liveaboard dive boats and other Galapagos-based tourism vessels, ran aground one kilometer off San Cristobal Island on January 16, 2001 and spilled over a million liters of oil into the sea. An environmental catastrophe was narrowly averted when prevailing winds and ocean currents carried most of the oil away from the archipelago. Despite initial reports from the Charles Darwin Foundation that oil killed only a few animals, scientists expressed concern that even relatively small amounts of oil could cause long-term damage to the fragile ecosystems and endemic species of the Galapagos. The recent study co-authored by Princeton University ecologist Martin Wikelski suggests those concerns were well-founded. Wilkelski, who has been studying the Galapagos for over 20 years, estimates that some 15,000 marine iguanas died on Santa Fe Island during the 11 months following the spill. (Go to CDNN Report "Galapagos oil spill devastated marine iguanas") | | Jessica oil spill likely killed some 15,000 Galapagos marine iguanas. Although Santa Fe Island is 48 kilometers west of the spill, Wilkelski believes that minute amounts of oil killed fermentation bacteria in the intestines of the iguanas. The bacteria enables iguanas to digest algae. Although Galapagos marine iguanas, which naturally fluctuate between 40,000 and 300,000, were not endangered by the Jessica oil spill, the decimation of the Santa Fe population indicates that even relatively small oil spills can be catastrophic to affected animals. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
