Part 12: What have we learned from the spills that have occurred in tropical reefs?

By studying past oil spills and responses in coral reef environments, we get a good idea of some of the complexities and variability of these types of incidents, and some of the problems and limitations spill responders may encounter when working at or near coral reefs:

• Direct contact with spilled oil usually leads to coral death.
  
• Even without direct contact, proximity to spilled oil can result in sublethal effects in coral, like reproductive impairment.
  
• Oil spills in coral reefs are often accompanied by other related impacts, like vessel groundings, that can be more detrimental to the coral than the spilled oil.
  
• Response effectiveness in coral reef areas remote from population centers can be affected by logistical problems:
  
  • There may be limited salvage and response equipment available.
    
  • Salvage vessels may have to travel for several days to weeks to reach a remote site.
    
  • The ship may break up before the salvor can reach the scene.
    
  • The spill location may have limited storage capacity for collected oil.