[NYTr] Seaflow statement on Cosco Busan spill

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by Steven Robinson 

Seaflow Statement - November 9, 2007
http://www.seaflow.org/article.php?id=705

Vessel Traffic Lanes Threaten National Marine Sanctuaries and State MPAs

State and Federal Governments Urged to Address Dangers of Allowing Large
Vessels into or near Protected Areas

Sausalito, The Headlands-Marine conservation organization Seaflow is
warning that the bunker fuel spill by the Cosco Busan container ship
yesterday is a symptom of allowing traffic lanes for large cargo
vessels and oil tankers in our National Marine Sanctuaries and State
Marine Protected Areas. Immediate action by the state and federal
governments to address the heightened risk to the marine environment
from oil spills as well as ship strikes and rising levels of ocean
noise pollution from large vessels is needed.

"The federal government is running a superhighway through our Yosemite
on the sea. Every cargo vessel and oil tanker that enters San Francisco
Bay passes right through at least one of our three contiguous National
Marine Sanctuaries and through or alongside critical state marine
protected areas," warned Robert Ovetz, Ph.D., executive director of
Seaflow.

The federal government has a system of 13 National Marine Sanctuaries,
the ocean equivalent to our national park system, which protect the most
sensitive and biologically diverse of our national waters. California
has 4 along its coast-the Channel Islands, Cordell Bank, Monterrey Bay
and the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries. There are
also dozens of state Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the California
coast.

"The deadly little secret of the Cosco Busan spill is that our National
Marine Sanctuaries and state MPAs are being used as on ramps for the
global economy. The thousands of vessels that annually enter the Port
of Oakland are threatening the very integrity of these invaluable
marine habitats and the San Francisco Bay," Ovetz added.

This year, the California Department of Fish and Game began working to
establish a new network of Marine Protected Areas along the North
Central California Coast. Two critically important areas in the region,
Pt. Reyes National Seashore and Pt. Bonita in the Marin Headlands,
which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, are now
contaminated by the Cosco Busan spill. Shipping lanes run either
through or alongside both of these biologically rich areas.

Ovetz highlighted the lesson from yesterday's spill: "The Cosco Busan
spill is a wake up call to Department of Fish and Game that any new
marine protected areas must be protected from the rising threat of
large cargo vessels and oil tankers. The number one goal of the Marine
Life Protection Act is to protect the integrity of these areas. That
cannot be achieved if we ignore the risk of more Cosco Busan spills,
ship strikes, and rising ocean noise pollution."

In addition to oil spills, large cargo vessels and oil tankers -which
emit intense low-frequency noise at the same frequency used by baleen
whales-are the biggest source of ocean noise pollution in the ocean
today. Ocean noise pollution is on the rise locally and globally. In
some areas, scientists have documented that underwater noise levels
have doubled every decade for the past four decades. Ocean noise
pollution has a range of impacts on marine life. At the worst, it can
be deadly. Studies show that fish, including commercially important
species, are dramatically impacted by noise pollution. Hearing loss,
changes in migration and schooling along with serious reduction in
catch rates have all been documented.

Large vessel traffic into San Francisco Bay is increasing rapidly. The
Port of Oakland, tucked away behind 3 of our National Marine
Sanctuaries, is the 4th busiest container port in the U.S. and 20th
busiest in the world. According to the federal government, the global
commercial vessel fleet including tankers, cargo and other large ocean
going ships nearly tripled from about 30,000 vessels in 1950 to more
than 85,000 vessels in 1998. According to the US Department of
Transportation, the number of large vessels in the global fleet is
expected to nearly double in the next 20-30 years.

Contact: Robert Ovetz, Ph.D., Executive Director, 415 229 9355 (o), 415
686 5554 (c) Robert at seaflow.org

For more information go to www.seaflow.org