Clean up crews are working on New Zealand’s North Island to recover a small amount of oil from an unknown source that began hitting the area between Foxton and Himatangi on 15 June. As of 16 June no oiled birds have been found but crews did report a juvenile seal with a patch of oil on it.
After consultation with oiled wildlife response specialists at Massey University's Wildbase the seal, whose species was not noted, has been fenced off to protect it from disturbance by clean up crews. Small amounts of oil are not known to cause significant health problems for most types of seals and the stress of capture and confinement for cleaning is a concern. There are four species of pinnipeds, often simply called seals, found in New Zealand-New Zealand fur seal which is the most common, New Zealand sea lion, leopard seal and southern elephant seal.
Approximately 10km of coastline have been affected but no further oil came ashore on the 16th. A nearby Ramsar site, Manawatu Estuary, has not been affected. Crews are using shovels and rakes to scoop up the oil, which is being found in discrete patches, thus minimising impact on the beach. Maritime New Zealand has been notified and oil samples have been sent for analysis.
Resources:
Long hard slog for 40 people cleaning oil spill on beaches from Foxton to Himatangi. Wellington Scoop. accessed online 16 June 2015