St. Peter Oil Spill: An Ecological and Socio-Economic Study of Effects

摘要

In connection with an oil spill, damage to mangrove swamps was reported. A group was assigned to assess the damage, advise on possible reclamation, and recommend action in similar future cases. Biological studies of the oil-contaminated mangrove area have shown that organisms had returned in abundance and sizes that made contaminated areas indistinguishable from unaffected localities. This suggests that the mechanism for recovery is one of migration from unaffected parts of the mangroves rather than through multiplication of surviving individuals. A socio-economic study revealed: (a) Primary effects--severe yet short-term effects on marine fauna resulting in a sharp reduction of the income of those persons engaged in fishing or in some aspects of fish marketing. (b) Secondary effects--within the fish marketing and tourist sectors--these were shown to have been of greater magnitude and of longer duration than the primary direct effects. (ERA citation 03:016689)