Concerns in James Bay over oil spill

For several months of the year, geese provide sustenance for many families, but in a split second, with an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico several month ago, the hunters’ way of life could change.
Chief Jonathan Solomon of Kashechewan First Nation has been hunting geese since he was a young boy in his community located along the James Bay Coast.
“When you see birds covered in oil, you seriously have to ask, ‘Is that going to impact my hunting with the birds?’” Solomon wondered aloud during a recent Mushkegowuk Chiefs meeting.
Solomon is gravely concerned next year’s spring goose hunt, which typically begins in early April and lasts until the end of May, could suffer disastrous consequences on account of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
On April 20, an oil rig owned by Transocean Ltd. and contracted to oil giant BP exploded during routine exploratory drilling.
The explosion occurred in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 kilometres off the coast of Louisiana. There were 11 fatalities in the explosion, as well as 17 injured workers, including four in critical condition.
It is estimated between 337 million and 666 million litres of oil has poured into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20, according to United States government statistics.
Each fall, thousands of Canadian snow geese migrate to marshes at the mouth of the Mississippi River where oil damage has hit hard. The migration pattern of the geese follow what is known as the Mississippi Flyway; which is one of four major North American flyways. Within the flyway zone, there is a lot of water and wetlands within the Mississippi delta.
The Hinterland Who’s Who website described how oil spills kills birds in many ways.
One impact is the breakdown of a birds’ waterproofing ability. The oil is known to cause the birds to suffer from hypothermia as it loses its ability to retain body temperature.
Another consequence is that as a bird preens its feathers, it inhales and swallows toxic compounds from the oil. Damage occurs to its liver, lungs, kidneys, intestines and other internal organs.
The food chain sources of the birds also suffer environmental impacts.
Ted Cheskey is the manager of bird conservation with Nature Canada. Cheskey notes that the oil spill will cause long-term impacts.
“A lot of food resources are going to be damaged because of the oil spill.”
Geese may not be affected
The food sources Cheskey refers to include crustaceans, young fish and algae.
Given the enormous environmental impacts the spill will have in Canada and the U.S., Solomon is surprised Canada’s federal government has spoken little about the incident.
Solomon wonders why politicians are so quiet about the catastrophic environmental impacts.
“It is one of the things that I am very concerned about,” he said. “There is nothing that comes across my desk with regard to the Gulf of Mexico–nothing at all. We have to get our government – that has international agreements – to begin studying the impacts of the geese that come through the area.”
Mushkegowuk Council Grand Chief Stan Louttit has been mandated by the Mushkegowuk chiefs to follow up with the federal government to find out what international protocols are in place to address their concerns.
“I think it is up to the United States government to deal with BP (and find out) what they are going to do,” Solomon said.
“We keep our fingers crossed they will be accountable for the disaster they created out there.”
On the other hand, there are two Canadian wildlife experts who remain optimistic that the oil spill will not affect the geese too much.
Ken Abraham, scientist of wetlands and waterfowl with the wildlife research team of the Ministry of Natural Resource said the Canadian geese from the James Bay and Hudson Bay coastal areas are not in jeopardy.
“They don’t go as far as Louisiana. There will not be any impacts. They don’t go to that range,” Abraham said.
However, Abraham has a word of caution with respect to the snow geese from the James Bay and Hudson Bay regions.
“For people interested in the snow geese, these geese do go to the delta of the Mississippi. Some of those could be affected by the oil impacts.”
He explained when the snow geese feed on underground plants, there is concern because they cannot get to their food source without submerging their faces in the oil-laden waters.
“They could get oil in that situation,” Abraham said. “I am not aware of oil as yet getting into the marshes that the snow geese from James Bay and Hudson Bay use. We will check if it’s likely to happen.”
Cheskey shares the same optimistic sentiment.
“The geese population is unlikely to be too affected by the oil leak right now. It is the diving ducks and loons that will likely be more impacted.
“I know how important the hunt is to the communities. It shows how connected we are – one area that is thousands of miles away from us can have an impact on us. I hope it won’t have a bad outcome, but then, it might too.”
Data released from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service up to June 28 has confirmed the oil spill has so far resulted in 834 dead birds. A further 1,993 birds have been recovered from the affected area.
“The question I ask myself, is this the last time I will see these birds?” Solomon said. “Is the water fowl going to be wiped out because of this environmental disaster of the century?”
After three months of uncontrollable oil spillage, BP’s efforts to contain the oil spill have taken a positive turn as of July 15.
According to the CNN website, the new capping stack BP lowered in place this week is successfully containing the oil.