Fuel was spilled at Robson Bight, an area frequented by orcas.
Photograph by : Marc Furney, Times Colonist

Two-kilometre-long slick spotted at Robson Bight off Island's northeast coast

Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist
Published: Monday, August 20, 2007

A barge loaded with logging equipment, including a fuel truck carrying diesel fuel, turned turtle yesterday and dropped its load into the water at Robson Bight, the protected area where threatened northern resident killer whales feed and rub their bellies.

An oily sheen, about two kilometres long, could be seen on the water shortly after the accident and environmental groups say it is almost inevitable some of the 60 whales known to be in the immediate area will come in contact with the fuel.

"There couldn't have been a worse place for this to happen. It's the only protected rubbing beach on the coast of B.C.," said Jennifer Lash of the Living Oceans Society.

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Posted by T. Armstrong