USCG Photo
A tugboat in Sitka, AK ran aground last week. One of the boat’s fuel tanks was punctured during the accident. Salvage crews were able to patch the leak and remove 32,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the boat. Authorities don’t know how much fuel reached the ocean at this time However, a fuel sheen could be seen from Salisbury Sound to Krestof Sound.
The timing of the spill couldn’t be worse for local fishermen. The Pacific herring began their annual spring spawn just a few days after the spill. Subsistence harvesters set hemlock branches and kelp along the shoreline during the spawn to be coated with eggs. Any eggs laid near the spill are at a high risk for contamination.
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Environmental Conservation have issued a seafood advisory recommending that no herring eggs be harvested from Neva Strait for St. John Baptist Bay. The advisory is recommending that no eggs be harvested from the affected area until further notice.
Seafood safety advisory issued following diesel spill in Neva Strait
