Heartbreaking Effects of Oil Spills on Marine Life
It is a fact that oil plays an important role in today’s modern existence. However, when transporting it, a high degree of care should be practised so as to avoid spills, which can harm marine life.
Oil is one of the most important commodities at present times. There is hardly a nation today that can survive without sufficient amounts of oil. However, during transport, there are times when oil tankers meet an accident, spilling oil into the sea. This may look simply like a black or shiny colour on the sea surface in the eyes of humans, but for marine life, it could lead to disastrous effects.
It’s Poison!
Oil is poisonous to animals. According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, animals get poisoned either from inhaling or ingesting it. Another instance that they are harmed is when a part of their bodies are exposed to it. The animal’s skin and eye are most of the time, the ones that come in contact with this harmful substance.
Smothers them to Death
Small fish and invertebrates living in the sea get smothered because of an oil spill. This means that if the area where the oil spill occurred is the breeding place for fish, crustaceans and other marine creatures, it will be killing many of these creatures. Like what GPA mentioned, the devastation that an oil spill makes is not always measured by the spread of the oil spill. There are other factors to be considered such as the location of the spill, the type of oil that was spilt, as well as the weathering characteristics.
Coats Feathers and Fur
When oil spills happen in winter, sea mammals and birds suffer greatly. Oil tends to coat their feathers and fur, which affects their ability to maintain body temperature. If they don’t get to maintain their temperature, they would be suffering from dire consequences. So you can just imagine what will happen to thousands of birds when a large oil spill happens. This is also why responders don’t waste time in cleaning up the spill, making use of absorbents in the process, so as to minimise the disastrous effects.
The harmful effects of an oil spill on marine life are really heartbreaking. Yes, accidents do happen. However, undertaking extra precautionary measures to avoid such spills will greatly help the marine life whose existence depends so much on man’s sense of responsibility.