A response vessel with a vacuum truck on board is shown off San Juan Island, Washington, in this recent handout photo. The United States Coast Guard says commercial divers are assessing a sunken fishing vessel that collapsed Saturday in waters on the American side of Haro Strait and is leaking fuel near southern Vancouver Island. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO – US Coast Guard A fishing boat that sank with nearly 10,000 liters of fuel near the Canada-US maritime border has hit one of the worst places for endangered orcas, an ocean pollution expert says. Peter Ross, senior scientist at the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, said the vessel sank in an important feeding area for endangered southern killer whales. It will be a race against time to clean up the spill, he said. “The very disturbing part of this whole incident is that it happened in probably the worst place of all for southern killer whales, right in the middle of critical habitat,” Ross said. The area is protected under the US Endangered Species Act, he said, because it is a popular fishing spot for orcas. Chinook salmon, the whales’ primary prey and a species that faces its own survival challenges, swim along bluffs on San Juan Island, creating a feeding channel for the orcas, he said. There are only 74 resident southern killer whales left, and the federal government says the main threats to the species are pollutants, declining chinook populations and acoustic disturbances. The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that the whales were last spotted west of Port Angeles, at least 50 kilometers from the spill site, but Ross said that’s no more than a day’s travel for the orcas. The Aleutian Island sank on Saturday off San Juan Island, about 25 kilometers east of Victoria, and its five crew members were rescued by a Good Samaritan, the US Coast Guard said. The vessel is under about 30 meters of water and its fuel included diesel, motor oil and other various oils. Officials have not determined what caused the sinking. On Monday, the coast guard’s Pacific Northwest division said a dive team was looking for the best way to secure the vents on the vessel so the tanks could be evacuated. Petty Officer Michael Clark told The Associated Press that a flare had entered Canadian waters and there was concern for southern resident killer whales that were last seen near the southern tip of San Juan Island but drifted away toward Port Angeles. By Monday afternoon, they were located west of Port Angeles, “well away from the spill,” the Coast Guard said. A safety zone has been established around the response area and all vessels must stay at least 914 meters from any diving vessel, it said. No whales have been spotted in the affected area and personnel are on scene to prevent marine mammals from approaching. There have been no reports of oily wildlife and air quality levels remain below harmful limits, it said. However, Ross warned that the threat is not over. If the whales return to the area, diesel fumes could be “extremely toxic” to them if inhaled. The risk depends on the volume and wind levels at the time of exposure. “This can cause significant damage if it’s in the right concentration, and if there’s no wind to disperse it,” he said. Diesel can also enter the food chain, starting with the biofilm on the surface of ocean water, if it is ingested by bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton. A pressing concern, too, is identifying exactly what types of oil and other fuels are on board, he said. Given the threats facing the endangered whales, it’s critical that divers locate the fuel, stop the leaks and possibly work to recover the vessel, he said. “This is an environmental emergency,” he said. Conservationists are also monitoring the effects on salmon, but that may depend on how officials handle the spill. Misty MacDuffee, Raincoast’s wild salmon program manager, said the spill is happening as salmon and other migratory species return to the Fraser River. Fish need to be safe from surface water fuel as they spend most of their time deeper. However, he cautioned against using dispersants to manage the oil because it involves breaking the stains into smaller droplets that can distribute the toxins through the water column. “That’s when it becomes deadly,” MacDuffee said. Oil can also pile up on shorelines with catastrophic consequences, he said. The Canadian Coast Guard said in an email that it stands ready to assist as needed, while several other U.S. agencies are also helping to contain any oil, monitor the path of the spill and monitor affected wildlife. Vice-Captain-Director. Brian Dykens said in a statement that the government and industry partners were working to develop “an effective and efficient containment and recovery response”. “The local public, the environment and protected marine species are our first priority,” he said.
