What Will the Refugio Oil Spill Kill?

Since last Tuesday’s oil spill, more than 20,000 gallons of death-dealing crude has sickened or killed pelicans, cormorants, grebes, dolphins, sea lions, elephant seals, bass, guitarfish, spiny lobsters, rock crabs, urchins, octopi, shrimp, mussels, sea hares, sponges, anemones, coral, and whole swaths of smaller sea life along the long-protected and once-pristine Gaviota Coast.

Exactly how many creatures are being killed is hard to say because most of the carnage is happening underwater. Federal and state agencies, now in total control of the affected area, have imposed such exceptionally strict closures that volunteers, reporters, and even area biologists have been denied access.

The FAA flight restrictions now block aircraft and drones from getting within five miles of the Refugio site. El Capitan and Refugio beaches are closed until June 4, and nearby fisheries have been shut down indefinitely. “All the secrecy suggests there’s a big problem,” said Greg Helms with the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental watchdog group. He speculated, as have many conservationists and area officials, that more wildlife may have been killed, or more oil spilled, than authorities are saying.