Press Release:
Based on a rigorous review by a team of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists of previously released preliminary data, the Service has compiled an expanded report of the birds rescued and collected during the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
This report, which will be provided regularly moving forward, outlines a species-by-species breakdown and maps of where the birds were collected, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland announced today.
“These new detailed reports will give us a better initial picture of the effects to migratory bird populations from the Deepwater Horizon spill, help guide our efforts to restore these populations and help ensure that those responsible will be held accountable for the full impacts of the spill,†Strickland said.
The initial report released by the Fish and Wildlife Service today showed that as of Sept. 14, 2010, a total of 3,634 dead birds and 1,042 live birds have been found in areas affected by the Deepwater Horizon spill. These numbers are subject to verification and cannot be considered final. Of the dead birds, the largest numbers are laughing gulls, followed by brown pelicans and northern gannets.
These numbers will be updated as the team of biologists continues the verification process which can take several weeks. Until the response to this environmental disaster is complete and birds are no longer being captured alive or collected dead, any numbers regarding birds must be considered preliminary.
About 1.5 percent of the current total represents birds collected live that later died. As data continues to come in, the Service will report on the number of live birds that have died.
In the meantime, the unverified preliminary numbers will continue to be updated daily to provide a glimpse into the spill impacts on birds that depend on the northern Gulf Coast.
The verified information will be updated every week. Verified species-by-species data, along with maps showing where birds were captured or collected, are posted on the Service’s oil spill web page (www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill) and the Restore the Gulf web site (www.restorethegulf.gov).
“In the early days of the response, alive and dead visibly and not visibly oiled birds were reported on a daily basis to reflect what search teams were finding and to enable the Response Planning Group to plan the next day’s collection and capture efforts,†said Acting Service Director Rowan Gould. “Because of the urgency to identify areas where large numbers of birds may be encountering oil these numbers were reported on a daily basis, but the exact locations, species type, degree of oiling were not verified. More recently, a data team has been working to fill in details and verify the accuracy of all information.â€
Ensuring accurate, scientifically valid information that describes bird impacts from this incident will be an important part of the government’s overall Natural Resource Damage Assessment. The assessment is designed to quantify the full magnitude of the injuries to natural resources from the spill, including lost uses of those resources. Federal and state agencies have come together as trustees under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to perform this assessment, which will result in a publicly reviewed restoration plan and damage claim to the companies responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
To view Weekly Bird Impact Data and Consolidated Wildlife Reports, visit http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/collectionreports.html