THIS ARTICLE IS republished from The Dialog underneath a Inventive Commons license.
An oil tanker carrying jet gas was not too long ago hit by a cargo ship whereas at anchor 13 miles off the east coast of England. This set off a sequence of huge explosions and an enormous plume of black smoke, whereas a nonetheless unknown amount of jet gas has spilled into the ocean.
We’re marine ecologists on the College of Hull, the town nearest the incident. We all know this coast and these seas very effectively. Whereas it’s too early to say precisely what the implications can be, we do know that this spill places in danger considered one of Britain’s most essential stretches of shoreline—each for conservation and for industrial fishing.
The collision occurred within the Holderness offshore marine protected spacea area of coarse sandy seabed that helps a number of completely different species. These embrace the ocean quahog, an edible clam recognized to reside for over 500 years. The realm additionally acts as a nursery for fish like lemon sole, plaice, and European sprat.
This space overlaps with these designated to guard harbor porpoises and the close by Humber Estuary and its mud flats, sand dunes, and marshes the place 1000’s of birds spend the winters alongside different essential species, corresponding to lampreys and grey seals.
The UK’s largest mainland breeding seabird colony is discovered simply north of the collision website, alongside the Flamborough and Filey coast. Greater than 250,000 birds nest there yearly, together with spectacular numbers of guillemots and razorbills. It additionally hosts species of conservation concern like gannets, kittiwakes, and puffins.
Seabirds return to Flamborough for the beginning of nesting season in March.
Photograpg: Ifetayo Stewart/ Getty Photographs
To the south are different protected coastlines and an essential breeding website for gray seals. The Wash, the place 4 rivers empty into the identical giant square-shaped estuary, is discovered 70 kilometers to the south, within the common path of drift from the tanker collision. The realm has giant salt marshes and is one other essential website for over-wintering birds.
