The B.C. government says in a report on its website that the spill happened Saturday at the Grieg Seafood fish farm near Zeballos, on the northwest side of Vancouver Island.
Human error during a fuel transfer at a fish farm off the west coast of B.C. has resulted in a spill into the water of up to 8,000 litres of diesel.
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The B.C. government says in a report on its website that the spill happened Saturday at the Grieg Seafood fish farm near Zeballos, on the northwest side of Vancouver Island.
The report says the company has placed an absorbent boom around the spill, but natural resources consultants say they haven’t been able to find any recoverable diesel on the water.
It says a visible sheen has been seen north and west of the spill site and the Canadian Coast Guard has sent out an advisory to other mariners to avoid the area.
The government says it is co-ordinating the clean up with Grieg Seafood, the group Strategic Natural Resources Consultants, leaders in the villages of Zeballos and Tahsis, and the Ehattesaht and Nuchatlaht First Nations.
It says the Ehattesaht First Nation has issued a clam harvesting alert and closure in the Zeballos Inlet.
“We know that pockets of diesel have travelled up across the channel to Nootka Island and Steamer Point, up Zeballos Inlet and down Esperanza on the north side,” the Ehattesaht/Chinehkints chief and council said in a statement.
They say they will be issuing new directives on how to handle fuel coming into their territory.
“The fuel docks in Esperanza and Zeballos as well as the logging camps and trucks who deliver the fuel to these various operations will all be reviewed for their equipment, their policies and their fail-safe systems,” they said.
Grieg Seafoods apologized in a statement on their website.
“We are doing all we can together with the First Nations, Coast Guard and other authorities to minimize damage. It was a human error, and we are looking into our routines, and how we transfer fuel in the future to make sure this does not happen again,” the statement reads.
With files from Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative