Sea Otter Symposium: Proceedings of a Symposium to Evaluate the Response Efforton Behalf of Sea Otters After the T/V 'EXXON VALDEZ' Oil Spill into Prince William Sound. Held in Anchorage, Alaska on April 17-19, 1990

摘要

The T/V Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, inthe early morning of 24 March 1989, spilling 11 million gallons of toxic crude oil into pristine Prince William Sound. As part of the response effort, a sea otter (Enhydra lutris) rescue was begun. The effort continued until 11 September 1989 at a cost reported to be in excess of $8 million. The rescue was precedent setting in several ways: the magnitude of the effort-as many as 14 capture crews at one time were spread over 400 nautical miles from the spill site to the Shelikof Strait, the number of animals handled (454) and people involved (more than 430), the techniques and equipment tested, and the apparent success-197 sea otters released into the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with assistance from nearly every sector that participated in the response, evaluated the rescue effort in a symposium in April 1990. The papers presented and the five concurrent workshop syntheses serve to document the effort, evaluate what was learned, and offer recommendations. The summary table included here is intended to provide the reader ready access to the number of sea otters handled.