8,500 Birds Killed by Oil Pollution in the Danish Wadden Sea Area

Two incidents of pollution in February and March 1998

INTRODUCTION

The North Sea coastlines of the Danish Wadden Sea area are polluted with oil with depressing regularity. This especially affects the coastal stretches of Fanø and Blavands huk, but has also affected the Wadden Sea coast around Esbjerg on occasions. Other areas are affected, depending on the prevailing winds and currents.

In April 1997, 17 kilometers of coastline were polluted with congealed lumps of oil of various sizes. A total of 215 tons of waste oil and contaminated matter was collected in the municipalities of Fanø and Blavandshuk. This material was later incinerated. The cost of this antipollution operation came to a little over DKK 1 million (approximately USD 150,000). It proved impossible to identify the source of the pollution.

FEBRUARY 1998

On 4th February 1998, there was a report of oil on the beach near Hjerting in the Wadden Sea area of the municipality of Esbjerg. The pollution stretched over several kilometers and consisted of a 30-cm-wide band of greasy globules of 2-4 cm diameter. An operation to collect the oil was begun in this area. The next day, it was reported that a smaller amount of oil had been washed up on the north beach of Fanø and on the Skallingen peninsula. An aerial inspection failed to identify any large areas of oil film on the surface of the sea.

On Fanø, several hundred birds were found to be smeared with oil and had to be destroyed. On 6th February it was possible to confirm that no more oil was drifting in. However, 4,000 Common Scoters were observed at the southern point of the peninsula. These birds had sought refuge ashore because they were smeared with oil to a greater or lesser extent.

The Oksbøl State Forestry Authority undertook the destruction of these birds. Normally, at this time of year, Common Scoters gather in flocks of up to 40,000 on the sea around the approaches to Esbjerg. They do not normally venture on to the coast. Some Eider ducks were also found amongst the contaminated birds. On 7th February, reports were received from the islands of Sylt and Amrum of birds driven inland, around 100 of which were contaminated with oil.

All in all, it is estimated that rather less than 1,000 kg of oil drifted onto the coast in the municipalities of Blavandshuk, Esbjerg and Fanø, and an antipollution operation was only necessary in the municipality of Esbjerg. However, this incident had catastrophic consequences for the population of the Common Scoter around the seaward approaches of Esbjerg. Oksbøl State Forestry Authority alone had to destroy 2,349 birds. This figure does not include the number of dead birds washed up on the beaches.

MARCH 1998

One month later, on 6th March 1998, another oil pollution incident was reported. This one affected the west coast of Fanø, depositing congealed lumps of thick oil, the largest of which were the size of clenched fists. A plane was soon airborne and observed an oil slick off the coast of Fanø. Reports followed of oil on the coast near Ribe, albeit of smaller proportion, within the Wadden Sea area.

On the coasts of Fanø and Skallingen between 300 and 400 contaminated gulls and approximately 1.600 Common Scoters were similarly affected by the oil. Just as with the incident in February, the pollution in March was limited in volume and extent, but nonetheless had a very large impact on the bird-life in the region. In March, 1.941 birds had to be destroyed and around 1.200 dead birds were collected from the beaches in both February and March.

CONCLUSIONS

This means that the total number of birds which perished in these two months amounted to between 7.000 and 10.000. The majority of these were Common Scoters. These birds must have been trapped by the oil slicks in their breeding grounds off the seaward approaches to Esbjerg near Grådyb Barre. Some died at sea, while other contaminated birds sought land at Fanø and Skallingen.

The County of Ribe, in its capacity as environmental authority, sent samples of the oil which drifted on to land to the Danish National Environmental Research Institute (DMU) for further analysis. The Institute concluded that the samples from these two separate incidents in February and March 1998, which caused a high number of deaths in the bird population, both involved the discharge of refined oil products, a mixture of fuel or bunker fuel and motor oil, which would typically come from a ship's bilge and/or slop tanks.

These latest incidents of oil pollution have given the two Counties of the Wadden Sea (Ribe and Southern Jutland) reason once again to stress to the national authorities the necessity for improved surveillance, as well as the importance of promoting the compulsory depositing of waste oil in harbours so that all forms of discharge into the sea can be prevented.

Authors address:

John Frederiksen
Amternes Vadehavssamarbejde
Sorsigvej 35
Dk - 6760 Ribe
e-mail: jf@ribeamt.dk