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  MARINe Spill Response  
 

MARINe is proactive in responding to events and trends which threaten the health of the rocky intertidal shores. Importantly, the expertise across Universities and agencies within MARINe is an important resource for agencies responsible for responding to coastal impacts and assessing damage to resources.
 

Shipwrecks

Along the California coast, boat groundings occur several times a year. In addition to loss of fuel oil, the boat itself can impact the rocky intertidal if it beaches on a rocky shore. MARINe teams may be asked to study the site of a grounding in order to understand the impacts to the rocky intertidal community. (Becker, 2006)
 
Rapid Response Go-Kit’s

Go-Kits, rapid response methods for biological assessment of oil spill impacts to shoreline habitats, were developed through a unique cooperative effort between the U.S. Bureau of Energy Management, Regulations, and Enforcement (BOEMRE), the California Department of Fish and Game, Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) and the NOAA Assessment and Restoration Office.

The challenge is to rapidly, but systematically and scientifically, collect information describing the quality of the shoreline habitats, prior to and after an oil spill hits the coast.

 All shoreline habitats (rocky and sandy intertidal, and coastal wetlands) are considered in the kits. The Go-Kits were developed jointly by agency and university biologists to ensure that scientifically valid approaches to data collections are practical to implement. The design of the kit and methodology anticipated that data collections would need to occur over a large area with limited time and staff.
 
Standardized protocols for measuring abundance and diversity of organisms were developed and field tested. Data collected was analyzed to determine the minimum threshold of information needed to provide a statistical basis. Pre-assembled backpacks with equipment, collection vials, protocol handbook, and data forms are provided to qualified teams of biologists who potentially could conduct the work simultaneously at different locations along the coast. Standardized data collection techniques ensure comparability between the field segments.

MARINe is working with NOAA and OSPR to identify teams of qualified biologists who are trained and approved to assist in detailed biological data collection just prior to and after an oil spill contacts the shoreline.
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