Environment & The Green Beat

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP) ― The container ship collision that dumped 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel into San Francisco Bay this week poses a serious threat to the region's fish and wildlife, scientists have concluded.

Biologists and fishermen are worried about the oil spill's long-term impact on the bay's birds, fish, invertebrates and marine mammals.

"The effects of the oil spill could persist for months and possibly years," said Tina Swanson, a fish biologist with the Bay Institute.

Seabirds are the most visible victims so far. As of Friday, wildlife rescue workers and volunteers combing beaches had found 19 dead and 73 injured seabirds coated in black oil, state officials said.

The injured oiled birds, mostly surf scoters that live on the water's surface, were sent to a wildlife recovery center in Solano County to be cleaned and rehabilitated before being released into the wild.

The oil seeps into the birds' skin, leaving them unable to maintain their body temperature, said Michael Ziccardi, director of the California Oiled Wildlife Care Network. Once covered in oil, the birds are forced to move ashore where they are at risk of starvation.

"It is a sad sight to see these animals affected," Ziccardi said. "We are concerned about the long-term effect of oil on the wildlife."

Wildlife officials are concerned that the region's sea lions and harbor seals could also be affected, though there were no confirmed reports of injured marine mammals so far.

The oil spill is bad news for the region's fish and fishermen.

Herring, the bay's only commercially fished species, spawn at this time of year, and the spill could affect the fishing season that begins in January, said Zeke Grader, who heads the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association.

The spill could threaten steelhead and chinook salmon that travel through the bay to spawning grounds in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers during the fall, Grader said.

Scientists also are worried about the spill's effect on the longfin smelt, whose population has reached record low levels this year. In August, environmental groups petitioned state and federal agencies to list it as an endangered species.

"This is exactly the kind of event that can push a species into extinction," said Swanson, of the Bay Institute.

With the much anticipated Dungeness crab season set to begin on Nov. 15, area fishermen planned to meet Saturday to discuss delaying the season, said Larry Collins, vice president of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association.

Once the crabs are harvested, fishermen circulate ocean water in tanks aboard their boats to keep them alive, and they're concerned that the spilled fuel could contaminate the crustaceans. The oil was blamed for the deaths of some crabs kept in tanks with circulating bay water at Fisherman's Wharf, Collins said.

"If the crabs get contaminated and someone gets sick, then you've lost your market forever," said Collins, who believes the season should be postponed until the spill is cleaned up. "This is a big mess."

The bunker fuel contains a host of toxic chemicals that could contaminate the bay for many years, said Sejal Choksi of San Francisco Baykeeper. She noted that Suisun Marsh, northeast of San Francisco Bay, is still suffering from a pipeline accident that spilled 120,000 gallons of diesel fuel in 2004.

"The pollutants will enter the food chain," Choksi said. "We're looking at pollution that will probably last decades."

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)