Diesel spilled from a salmon farm near Zeballos has spread as far as the northern edge of Nootka Island, according to the Nuchatlaht First Nation, which is calling on the federal government to expedite the phasing out of net pens on the B.C. coast.
An estimated 7,000 to 8,000 litres of diesel fuel was reportedly spilled on Dec. 14 from a Grieg Seafood fish farm by Lutes Creek in Esperanza Inlet, which is in the territory of the Ehattesaht/Chinehkint First Nation. The spill occurred during a fuel transfer on a floating concrete platform, and is the result of human error, according to the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Parks.
On the day of the spill a storm hit Vancouver Island, spreading the thin sheen of oil through Nootka Sound. Diesel has been sighted at Steamer Point, which is on the northern edge of Nootka Island, according to Nuchatlaht Lands and Natural Resources Manager Roger Dunlop.
“The diesel has gotten into the rocks and sediments around Steamer Point,” he said in a Dec. 18 press release from the First Nation. “Yesterday at high tide diesel was coming out of rocks into an area busy with wildlife: marbled murrelets, sea ducks, sea otters and a stellar sea lion. Humpback whales were observed in the area. At Steamer Point we could smell the diesel in the air.”
“I fish out here regularly and I’m now afraid to eat anything by the looks of things,” said Judae Smith, a Nuchatlaht guardian and fisheries technician. “It’s hard to imagine how anyone could ever clean up this kind of toxic damage. It permeates everything and so much damage has already been done.”
The spill occurred during a time when locals would normally be harvesting clams for sustenance and sale to seafood markets. But the Ehattesaht quickly closed the clam harvest in the Zeballos Inlet until water and shellfish testing determines that the seafood is free of toxins.
According to the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, most of a diesel spill will normally evaporate within the first few days. There is also seldom any volume of oil for responders to recover from the ocean.
The spill has also reignited frustration over the prevalence of fish farms in B.C., most of which are in Nuu-chah-nulth territory off of Vancouver Island’s west coast. In June Fisheries and Oceans Canada renewed 66 finfish farming licences in the province, but as of June 30, 2029 open net pens – the aquaculture industry’s standard practice – will be banned in B.C.
While many First Nations are opposed to salmon farming, several have formal agreements with finfish aquaculture companies. Those with agreements in place include the Ehattesaht, Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht, according to information from the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship.