Abstract

Hazardous material spills (including oil) and vessel groundings, including the ensuing salvage efforts, are examined in the context of natural resource damage assessment as acute antbropogenic activities resulting in both long and short term impacts to marine and freshwater fisheries and their habitats in particular. Two case studies and their restoration approaches are presented. The grounding of the M/V FORTUNA REEFER on the reefs of Mona Island, Puerto Rico resulted in approximately 2.75 hectares of coral injury. The grounding resulted in a discreet impact zone, but the salvage effort increased the injury to many times the size of the grounding area. Emergency restoration efforts at the site entailed the use of stainless steel wire and nails to reattach detached and broken colonies of Acropom paImata. A restoration status report is provided. A phosphate industry spill of approximately 189 - 211 million liters (SO-56 million gallons) of process water containing phosphoric acid (pH 2) resulted in the instantaneous kill of over 13 million freshwater and marine fish in the Alafia River and Tampa Bay, Florida. The fish injury, including both the direct kill and the lost future somatic growth, was estimated at 64,892 kilograms of biomass lost. In addition, the spill injured approximately 377 acres of freshwater wetlands and contributed to nutrient loading in Tampa Bay. Restoration or creation of emergent estuarine habitat and/or reef creation are being considered to compensate for the fish injuries.

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