Oiled coasts mean oiled shorebirds: Brazil oil spill impacts shorebirds

In contrast to this large-scale government and industry response to the Deepwater Horizon spill, the cleanup and recovery of the oil spill in Brazil has been fragmented at best. Although the government of Brazil reports recovery of approximately 600 tons of oil (out of an estimated 2,500 spilled), the official response to the spill was heavily criticized as too little and too slow. The vast majority of the cleanup is being handled by local municipalities and volunteers without even the basic equipment needed to safely dispose of toxic crude oil. Manomet and WHSRN partners in Brazil are monitoring the impacts on shorebirds to the extent possible. The spill is impacting the WHSRN site Banco dos Cajuais, and images of oiled shorebirds hint at the ongoing damage. We are currently looking at ways we can assist our partners in Brazil; see the end of this article for ways you can help.

Just as the spill in Brazil was beginning, a smaller event occurred closer to home but has received much more coverage in the U.S. press. On September 8, 2019, a cargo ship carrying over 2,000 vehicles overturned in the Brunswick Sound, off the coast of Georgia. Today, it continues to sit in the channel as crews work to remove the vessel and minimize environmental damages; it is projected that it could remain in the sound for up to a year. This situation is complex with the United States Coast Guard, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and a contractor specializing in such operations working to remove fuel and ultimately the ship and its cargo. While evidence of environmental impacts have been reported by these agencies and other environmental non-profits such as the Altamaha Riverkeeper, we have seen, overall, less damage than might be expected given the size of the ship and the potential for catastrophe. The Georgia Barrier Islands, a WHSRN landscape of hemispheric importance, is a critically important site for as many as 300,000 shorebirds each year.

 

Unfortunately, the accident happened right during the peak of fall migration, and at least one major release of contaminants was seen. For a period of several days, a black, sticky, oily substance washed up on the spartina grass in the marshes, clung to shell rakes, and coated the dead wrack vegetation that collects at the marsh edges. These rakes are particularly important roost sites for shorebirds, and monitoring these sites revealed numerous shorebirds with light oiling and several that were heavily oiled. The shorebirds that were most affected were Arctic-nesting shorebirds on their southbound migration. Many of these birds would have left Georgia, only to find contaminated beaches on their stopover and wintering sites in Brazil. Crews worked to clean the affected areas in Georgia, but the damages that we saw in the sound highlight the importance of considering biological impacts during cleanup and mitigation. The oiled rakes were used by thousands of shorebirds, twice daily as high tide roost sites. Without the input of DNR and Manomet shorebird biologists, it is likely that the ramifications of oil on these sites would have been overlooked, because the geography they cover is so small. Through our networks in Georgia, we were able to alert volunteers to report oiled birds, and document the damages independently of the involved agencies and cleanup crews. This spill is also ongoing, so we are continuing to monitor the area.

Oil spills remain a major existential threat to shorebird populations. Spills kill birds outright when they are coated in oil, reduce their lifespan and fitness when the effects are not immediately lethal, and destroy the prey base they need for survival. In addition, cleanup efforts create huge amounts of disturbance that impact roosting and nesting. Manomet and WHSRN partners are working to monitor and record potential damages and bring them to the attention of the public and policy-makers to raise awareness and effect change.

This is a critical time for shorebirds. Manomet and our partners are working to reduce the effects of these spills on migrating shorebirds. If you would like to help Manomet’s partner SAVE Brasil with their shorebird work in the face of this crisis, please visit their website to donate and learn more about their work. If you donate, please email to Juliana Almeida at juliana.almeida@savebrasil.org.br and let her know the donation is for the shorebird program.  Thank you very much for helping our partner organization at this challenging time!

To learn more about Manomet’s work in the Georgia Bight, visit https://www.manomet.org/project/ga-bight-shorebird-conservation/. To support our shorebird work in Georgia, visit https://www.manomet.org/join/membership/membership-application/ and include a note in the comment box.