NOAA technical report NMFS SSRF

A UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF

COMMERCE
PUBLICATION

'"•'.r.so''*"

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE

NOTE

Until October 2, 1970, the National Marine
Fisheries Service, Department of Commerce,
was the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, De-
partment of the Interior.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Maurice H. Stans, Secretary

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
Dr. Robert M. White, Administrator

NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
Philip M. Roedel, Director

Oil Pollution on Woke Island from
the Tanker R. C Stoner

By

REGINALD M. GOODING

Special Scientific Report--Fisheries No. 636

Seattle, Washington
May 1971

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 25 cents Stock Number 0320-0008

CONTENTS

Page

Introduction 1

Shoreline surveys. 4

The lagoon 4

Area cleared of fish by the Federal Aviation Agency 4

Area not cleared by the Federal Aviation Agency 6

The small boat harbor 6

Sea birds 7

Underwater surveys 8

The vicinity of the wreck.

Sea off Wake Island between the harbor and Peacock Point 9

Sea off southeastern end of Wilkes Island 10

Conclusions 10

FIGURES

1. Wake Island — 2

2. R. C. Stoner , aground off the harbor entrance 3

3. Oil blackened surf 3

4. Inner small boat harbor was covered with about 20 cm of oil 4

5. Turbo sp. suffered high mortality 5

6. Fishes stranded on the oil blackened beach 5

7. Large aggregations of sooty terns off the western end of the island 7

8. Leatherback runners, Chorinemus sanctipetri, swimming in an area

heavily contaminated with jet fuel 8

Oil Pollution on Woke Island from the Tanker R. C. Stoner

By

REGINALD M. GOODING, Fishery Biologist

National Marine Fisheries Service
Hawaii Area Fishery Research Center
Honolulu, Hawaii 96812

ABSTRACT

On September 6, 1967, the tanker R. C. Stoner foundered on the reef off the harbor
entrance at Wake Island. During the following 10 days the vessel's cargo of over 22,000
kliters (6 million gal) of high octane aviation gasoline, aviation jet fuel, aviation tur-
bine fuel, diesel oil, and bunker C black oil was spilled along the southern coast of the
island.

A shore and underwater survey of the contaminated coastline showed that an
estimated 2,500 kg of inshore reef fishes were killed and stranded on the shore.
Numerous other fish and invertebrates were probably killed. Evidence is cited which
indicates that most of the kill occurred on the shallow reef flat and the author specu-
lates on the lethal effect of the various fuels.

INTRODUCTION

On September 6, 1967, the SS R. C. Stoner.
an 18,000-ton tanker, went aground about 200 m
southwest of the harbor entrance at Wake Is-
land (Figures 1 and 2). She was in the process
of mooring to two buoys located outside the
harbor when the strong southwesterly wind
drove her onto the reef.

When she foundered, the R. C. Stoner was
loaded to capacity with over 22,000 kliters (6
million gal) of petroleum products. The cargo
consisted of (1) 13,300 kliters (3,507,000 gal)
of J-P4 military aviation jet fuel, a mixture of
kerosene and gasoline which is light yellow and
mixes readily with water; (2) 6,700 kliters
(1,785,000 gal) of A-1 commercial aviation
turbine fuel, a kerosene fuel which is light
brown, mixes readily with water, and is a rel-
atively safe fuel to handle; (3) 1,600 kliters
(420,000 gal) of 115/145 aviation gasoline, a
highly combustible fuel for high performance
reciprocating engine aircraft, which is light
purple and contains tetraethyl lead; (4) 640
kliters (168,000 gal) of diesel oil, which is

light brown; and (5) 525 kliters (138,600 gal) of
bunker C black oil, the vessel's engine fuel and
least volatile of the petroleum products on
board.

Ollie Custer and I, of the Bureau of Commer-
cial Fisheries Biological Laboratory (now Na-
tional Marine Fisheries Service Hawaii Area
Fishery Research Center), Honolulu, arrived at
Wake Island on September 13 to survey and
assess the damage to marine fish, inverte-
brates, and birds caused by the petroleum
spillage.

Wake Island, lat 19°18' N, long 166°36' E.
lies about 300 miles north northwest of the
northernmost of the Marshall Islands and is
administered by the Federal Aviation Agency
(FAA). It has a loran station operated by the
Coast Guard and a Pacific Missile Range in-
stallation maintained by the Air Force. Wake
consists of three islets forming an atoll en-
closing a shallow lagoon. The total land area
is about 6.5 km^ with a maximum elevation of
about 7 m. The atoll is about 7.2 km long
northwest to southeast and about 3.2 km wide.
The lagoon has an area of about 9.1 km^ and a

-19° IB' N

CHANNEL

R.C.STONER

UNDERWATER-
SURVEY AREA

166° 36' E.

"•ii^^PtKOCK POINT

Figure I . --Wake Island.

maximum depth of 3-4 m.

Immediately after the grounding, a large
quantity of fuel spilled from the damaged tanks.
It was believed to consist primarily, of aviation
gas, J-P4 jet fuel, and possibly A-1 turbine
fuel. However, the following day bunker C fuel
was also escaping in considerable quantity
(Figure 3). Gasoline vapor could be smelled
until September 9, but not subsequently, indi-
cating that the vessel was clear of gasoline
within the first few days.

Unsuccessful attempts to pull the R.C.Stoner
from the reef with her cargo intact made it
apparent that it would be necessary to lighten
the vessel before salvage operations could pro-
ceed. However, continuing southwesterly winds
and rough seas caused by the recent close pas-
sage of typhoon Opal and tropical storm Rita
delayed salvage. Southwesterly winds of 18 to
25 knots continued until the morning of Sep-
tember 16.

On September 8, the stern section of the
R. C. Stoner broke off and plans to float the
vessel free were abandoned. During the first

3 days after the grounding, the prevailing south-
westerly wind drove the escaping fuel into the
small boat harbor and along the coast for about

4 km towards Peacock Point (Figure 1). It was
estimated that as much as 2,285 kilters (600,000
gal) of mixed fuels covered the surface of the
small boat harbor with a layer up to 20 cm
thick (Figure 4). The volume of petroleum
products washed up on the south coast was not
estimated. Only small quantities of oil reached
the shore on the Wilkes Island coast to the
northwest of the harbor entrance and relatively
few dead fish were seen stranded on that shore.

Large numbers of dead fish were stranded
mostly along two high-water levels between the
harbor entrance and Peacock Point. The odor
of putrefying fish was strong as far as 3.2 km
away. The intensity of the kill diminished

Figure 2.--R^. C. Stoner . aground off the harbor entrance.

Figure 3-""0il blackened surf

Figure 'i. --Inner small boat harbor was covered with about 20 cm of oil.

along the shore towards Peacock Point. On the
southern side of the point, few dead fish were
seen, and no dead fish or shoreside petroleum
pollution was seen on the northern side of the
point.

On September 11 and 12, FAA personnel in
cooperation with crewmen from the R. C. Stone r
had cleared most of the larger fish from the
shore area that had received the bulk of the
dead fish. The cleared shoreline extended from
the harbor entrance southeast for about 2,300m
(Figure 1).

By September 13, a U.S. Navy harbor clear-
ance team had arrived from Subic Bay, Philip-
pine Islands, to assist in removing the vessel.
Two Navy tugs, a Navy salvage ship, the U.S.
Conserver . a Navy tanker, the U.S. Noxubee, and
USCG Mallow were laying offshore to assist in
the salvage of the R. C. Stoner and her cargo.

Standard Oil Company and U.S. Navy person-
nel were removing oil products from the sur-
face of the small boat harbor. Utilizing air-
driven pumps and surface skimmers, they were
pumping oil into pits dug close to the harbor.
The oil in the pits was burned each evening.
Over 100,000 gal were estimated to have been
removed from the harbor and disposed of by
this technique.

SHORELINE SURVEYS

We made spot surveys along the full length of
the seaward and lagoon coastlines of the atoll
to determine and assess the effects of the con-
tamination.

The Lagoon

No petroleum products had entered the la-
goon. The harbor is blocked from the lagoon
by an earthen causeway which had prevented
entry of oil into the lagoon from the harbor.
The prevailing westerly winds and currents
evidently prevented pollutants from entering
the lagoon over the reef on the northwestern
end of the atoll.

Area Cleared of Fish by the
Federal Aviation Agency

With few exceptions all the larger fish had
been removed from the cleaned section of the
shoreline. The remaining small fish were con-
centrated in windrows along two oily high-water
marks along the coastline. Both high-water
lines were the result of abnormally high tides
in combination with the strong onshore wind
and high seas which prevailed early in Septem-
ber. They were about 8 and 3 m higher up the
beach than the high-water level on September
13. The fish were usually thickly covered with
oil. They consisted largely of pomacentrlds
(damselfishes) and acanthurids (surgeonfishes);
Pomacentrus nigricans, Abudefduf sordidus.
and Acanthurus triostegus seemed to predom-
inate. We estimated that the remaining fish on
this section of the coast probably did not amount
to more than a few hundred kilograms.

Dead turbine molluscs, Turbo sp. (Figure 5),
and dead sea urchins, Tripneustes sp., were
abundant. We also saw a tew dead beach crabs
and small cowries.

Personnel involved in the fish cleanup oper-

Figure 5 • --Turbo sp. suffered high mortality.

Figure 6. --Fishes stranded on the oil blackened bead

ation had saved specimens ot the various spe-
cies they had collected. These were identified
and photographed. Their records showed that
approximately 1,360 kg of fish were collected
during the cleanup. Based on their rough esti-
mates, by number, 40% were surgeonfishes.
mostly Acanthurus triostegus and A_. achilles;
307o were parrotfishes; 10% were squirrelfish
Holocentrus lacteoguttatus; and 20% were other
species, many of which were groupers. Very
few dead moray eels were collected during the
cleanup.

They saw numerous dead sea urchins and
turbine shells, but these had not been removed.
A visit to the dump, where the fish had been
disposed of. enabled us to verify some of the
information supplied, relative to quantities and
percentages.

Area Not Cleared by the
Federal Aviation Agency

Oil contamination continued for about 2.4 km
southeast of the section that had been cleaned.
Here too, the majority of dead fish were well
above normal high water. Some were even en-
meshed in the branches of low bushes. We
counted the larger fish (over approximately 15
cm) , identified them, and took photographs (Fig-
ure 6). Table 1 lists the species we identified
In the kill, including specimens saved by the
cleanup crew. We did not attempt to identify
the hundreds of small oil-covered specimens
which no doubt included many additional spe-
cies. Table 2 includes only the larger fish that
were counted on the uncleared shore. The total
weight of fish stranded on this section was
probably not much over 900 kg.

The scarcity of moray eels was interesting.
Local divers and fishermen said that morays
were abundant on the reef, but only two dead
moray eels were found. During the underwater
surveys of the reef flat none were seen. The
eels may have detected the pollution and fled
the area before the concentration became le-
thal, or they may have survived it and were not
seen.

We saw considerable numbers of dead tur-
bine shells. No counts were made. Few sea
urchins had been killed along this section com-
pared with the more northwesterly shore. The
only other dead invertebrates were occasional
cowries, nudibranchs, and grapsoid crabs.
Numerous hermit crabs were observed feeding
on the dead fish, but we saw no dead hermit
crabs.

The Small Boot Harbor

The small boat harbor was a trap for large
quantities of the petroleum spillage. There was
a layer of mixed fuels which at times was 20
cm deep in the inner part of the basin. The
harbor banks were fouled with a thick layer of

Table 1. — Some of the fishes washed up on the
south coast of Wake Island, east of the wreck
of R. C. Stoner.

Serranidae (groupers)

Cephalopholis argus

At least two other unidentified species

Holocentridae (squirrelfish)

Holocentrus lacteoguttatus

Scaridae (parrotfishes)

Scarus perspicillatus

Scarus sordidus

At least two other unidentified species

Mullidae (goatfish)
Unidentified

Acanthuridae (surgeonfishes)
Acanthurus achilles
Acanthurus nigricans
Acanthurus triostegus
Ctenochaetus striatus
Zebrasoma f lavescens
Zebrasoma velif erum

Chaetodontidae (butterf lyf ishes)
Centropyge f lammeus
Chaetodon lunula
Chaetodon semeion

Balistidae (triggerf ishes)
Melichthys vidua
Rhinecanthus rectangulus

Scorpaenidae (scorpionf ish)
Pterois volitans

Diodontidae (puffer)
Diodon hystrix

Muraenidae (moray)
Unidentified

Mugilidae (mullets)
Unidentified

Pomacentridae (damself ishes)
Abudef duf imparipennis
Abudefduf sordidus
Pomacentrus nigricans

Priacanthidae (bigeye scad)

One specimen found — unidentified

Cirrhitidae (hawkfish)
Unidentified

Carangidae (jack)
Unidentified

Labridae (wrasse)

Thalassoma umbrostigma

Table 2. --Fishes (>ca. 15 cm) counted on the
shoreline which had not been cleared by the FAA.

Family

Count

Percentage

of total

number

Percentage

of total

estimated

weight

Holocentridae

(squirrel fishes)

384

37

9.5

Acanthuridae

(surgeonf ishes)

288

27.4

7.6

Scaridae

(parrotf ishes)

284

27.4

59.9

Serranidae

(groupers)

52

5,0

21.0

Balistidae

(triggerf ishes)

20

2.0

1.0

Scorpaenidae

(scorpionf ishes ;

8

0.6

0.2

Mullidae

(goatf ishes)

4

0.3

0.1

Diodontidae

(spiny puffers)

4

0.3

0.2

Muraenidae

(morays)

2

0.1

0.1

black bunker fuel. A survey of the kill along
the perimeters of the channel and inner harbor
revealed considerable numbers of small fish,
very few large fish, numerous grapsoid crabs,
and some small sea snakes: most of these were
heavily fouled with black oil. The fish included
various pomacentrids, small scarids (parrot-
fishes), and acanthurids. Although the fish
were numerous, the total biomass of the kill
was relatively small, probably only a few hun-
dred kilograms. We learned from FAA per-
sonnel who worked around the docks that the
fish population in the harbor was normally
sparse. The heavy layer of oil on the surface
and emulsified jet fuel below precluded diving
in the channel or harbor; however, survival of
marine vertebrates and invertebrates seemed
unlikely under such intense contamination.

Sea Birds

Hundreds of thousands of sooty terns were
aggregated in the air to the northwest of Wilkes
and Peale Islands (Figure 7); frigate birds in
considerable numbers and a relatively few
shearwaters were also present. The birds
were concentrated over areas which did not

Figure 7. --Large aggregations of sooty terns off the western end of the island.

receive petroleum spillage. No birds were
seen along the fouled coastline. There was no
indication that any bird life on the atoll had
been killed or harmed by the spill.

UNDERWATER SURVEYS

Underwater surveys were made (1) in the
vicinity of the R. C. Stoner. (2) 2.5 km south-
east of the harbor entrance, (3) on the reef
flats and reef fronts about 1 km southeast of
the harbor entrance, and (4) on Wilkes Island
about 300 to 400 m northwest of the R. C. Stoner
(Figure 1). Dives were also made in the lagoon
and in uncontaminated areas along the north-
westerly reefs. The lagoon supports a large
population of fish. Had large quantities of pe-
troleum products entered this shallow enclosed
area mortality would probably have been very
high. No dead fish were seen in the water at
any of these places.

The Vicinity of the V/reck

During survey 1 the ocean around the R. C.
Stoner contained a considerable amount of what
was probably jet fuel that had emulsified with
the water which was a dirty straw color to a

depth of 7 m or more. This contamination was
sufficient to cause skin irritation and after
an hour we were covered with a light oily film
and were in much discomfort. Itching and ten-
derness of the skin in the more sensitive areas
persisted for several days.

Many fish were seen on the reef around the
wreck. Most of them were on the bottom (10-
12 m) where the water was less contaminated.
Many were within 2-3 m of the ship. Curiously,
we saw numerous individuals of the leatherback
runner, Chorinemus sanctipetri (Figure 8).
frequently come up and swim around in the
upper 3 m of water where the pollution was
heaviest. At the after end of the vessel the
water was so contaminated that we dared not
swim around the stern. In spite of this, we saw
leatherback runners swimming in this area,
with no apparent ill effects. We thought that
the combination of irritation and oiliness would
have a deleterious effect, particularly on the
gills. However, individual fish may have re-
mained in the contaminated water for brief
periods only.

The coral heads immediately seaward of the
wreck and from 3 to 15 m from it were well
populated with fish. These included parrot-

N.

Figure 8. --Leatherback runners, Llmr i i
heavily contaminated with jet fuel.

:..oiiCL i pulr i

j^j I liiin I ny i ii dii area

fishes (Scarus perspicillatus, Chlorurus gibbus,
and at least two other species, probably S.
sordidus and S. brunneus) , surgeonfishes (Acan-
thurus trlostegus. A. achilles, A. nigricans,
and A^. guttatus), butterflyfishes (Chaetodon
setifer, C. auriga, C. lunula, C. quadrimacu-
latus, and Forcipiger longirostris) , grouper
(probably Cephalopholis argus), porgy (Mono-
taxis graduculis), wrasse (Thallassoma um-
brostigma) , triggerfishes (Melichthys vidua and
M. buniva), puffers (probably Diodon hystrix
and Arothron meleagris), damselfishes (Poma-
centrus nigricans and Dascyllus aruanus), and
squirrelfish (probably Holocentrus lacteogutta-
tus). Two unidentified species of jacks (Ca-
rangidae) were numerous.

Although there were numerous fish around
the reefs close to the ship, we later found,
after subsequent dives, that other areas on the
reef front farther away from the source of pol-
lution were more densely populated than the
reef front near the R. C. Stoner. During the
period of greatest petroleum spillage, many
fish in the wreck area were probably either
killed or driven away.

The reef flat directly inshore of the wrecked
ship is about 0.5 to 2 m deep at low tide and
about 125 m wide, the widest such area on this
coast. We found it nearly barren of fish. The
bottom is flat, covered with coralline rubble
with few coral heads. One would not expect
such a reef normally to support a very large
population of fishes, but neither would it be ex-
pected to be as depauperate as it was. Prob-
ably, many of the fish in this area had been
either killed or driven off.

Sea Off Wake Island Between the
Harbor and Peacock Point

Time and weather permitted us to make two
underwater surveys off this coast (surveys 2
and 3, Figure 1). Both surveys were made in
areas where considerable numbers of fish had
been stranded on the shore.

On September 15, the wind was still strong
from the southwest. A heavy sea was breaking
on the reef 2.5 km southeast of the harbor,
where we made survey 2. Weather reports
indicated that typhoon Sarah would pass very
close to Wake in about 48 hr and sea conditions
were poor for diving. However, we decided it
would be best to survey the polluted coast out-
side the reef as best we could before the ty-
phoon arrived. We were unable to find any
passes through the reef so scuba was not used.

The heavy turbulence on the reef flat made
visibility poor. The reef flat there is about
30 m wide and has numerous coral formations.
It should support a substantial fish population;
however, we saw relatively few fish. The
dominant groups were various scarids (not in-
cluding adult humpback parrotfish, C. gibbus).
and acanthurids, the latter mostly A. trlostegus
and A. achilles. We saw no grouper or squir-
relfish. There was no petroleum or dead fish
in the water. At least part of the sparsity of
fish on the shelf was probably due to the heavy
seas.

The reef front drops off steeply to a depth of
about 8 m. Visibility was better than on the
flat. There were numerous rock and coral
formations and a myriad of fish. Time did not
allow us to obtain any data on the density of the
fish population on the seaward side of the reef.
However, on the basis of past experience, we
considered the population to be high. This
population included a wide range of the common
reef groups. The most numerous species were
generally the same ones that were the most
plentiful in the kill: several species of parrot-
fishes; surgeonfishes, predominantly A. trl-
ostegus and A. achilles; several species of
groupers, mostly C. argus, and various poma-
centrids and chaetodontids. Exceptions were
squirrelfish, few of which were seen, and adult
humphead parrotfish, which was numerous out-
side the reef but apparently absent in the kill.

Shortly after crossing the reef, we encount-
ered numerous blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus
melanopterus. During this survey and subse-
quent surveys outside the reef, we were fre-
quently pestered by sharks, most of them 1.2
to 1.5 m long. They were extremely curious
and persisted in making close passes, frequent-
ly coming within less than 1 m of us. They
were remarkably bold and did not scare easily.
Local skindivers considered the abundance and
boldness of the blacktips as very unusual. The
only way we can account for their concentration
and behavior is that the sharks had been at-
tracted to the area by dead fish and had become
conditioned to finding abundant food drifting
around. Such conditioning might result in im-
mediate attack behavior, without the prelimin-
ary investigation usually more characteristic
of sharks. The behavior of the sharks was a
little disconcerting and hindered us somewhat,
as we had to keep a constant watch in order to
chase them off. It is interesting to note that no
shark was reported in the kill.

We covered about 275 m of coastline. As on
the reef flat we saw no dead fish or inverte-
brates, nor any indication of petroleum in the
water.

We made survey 3 off the south coast about
1.7 km southeast of the wreck (Figure 1) on
September 16. The wind had abated and the sea
was the calmest we had seen since our arrival.
The heaviest beach-stranded kill had occurred
in this general area. We surveyed the reef flat
for about 125 m. The reef in this area was
similar to that in survey area 2, but the fish
population, dominated by Scarus sordidus, Acan-
thurus triostegus, A. achilles, and Ctenochaetus
striatus, was larger. We saw no squirrelfish,
grouper, or adult humphead parrotfish on the
reef flat. The reef front dropped off abruptly
to about 8 m. We were again impressed by the
abundance of fish life, which was far greater
than on the reef flat. Here also, parrotfishes
and surgeonfishes dominated. We saw several
different species of Scarus and numerous large
C. gibbus; in addition, C. argus and at least
three other species of groupers and two species
of carangids were plentiful. We saw a number
of squirrelfish, which appeared to be the same
species, H. lacteoguttatus, which occurred in
the kill. As in survey 2, we saw most of the
species that were in the kill, plus many more.
Those species which were most abundant in the
kill were apparently also the most abundant
offshore. Humphead parrotfish and squirrelfish
were exceptions. We encountered numerous
blacktip sharks behaving in the same manner
as on the previous day.

Sea Off Southeastern End of
Wilkes Island

The area in front of the Pacific Missile Range
facility about 300 to 400 m northwest of the
R. C. Stoner was chosen for survey 4 (Figure
1). Because of the prevailing southwesterly
winds and possibly the current, very little oil
had washed up there, but instead had been driv-
en up the channel into the inner harbor. On our
survey of the beach on Wilkes Island, we had
found little oil and few dead fish. Because that
area had apparently been relatively little af-
fected, we thought it would serve as a useful
comparison to the two more easterly surveys.
Local scuba divers told us it was one of their
favorite diving spots, and that there were many
fish on the reef front and sharks were rare.
Curiously, during our brief survey, we found
neither the reef flat nor the reef front nearly

as abundant in fish as the previously investi-
gated areas; we saw few parrotfishes and no
dead fish in the water, but we were bothered by
blacktip sharks and later by two larger (2.0-
2.5 m) gray sharks. The latter, which we could
not positively identify as to species, manifested
the same aggressive tendencies as the black-
tips, making very close passes. We were a bit
more leery of large sharks with this type of
behavior and left the area posthaste.

CONCLUSIONS

By noon of September 16, large storm seas
were rapidly building up on the reefs and it
was impossible to continue the survey. That
night typhoon Sarah struck Wake with winds up
to 67 m per sec (140 miles per hr) causing
great damage to the island's facilities. The
typhoon, however , had one saving grace: it blew
away virtually all of the oil that had accumu-
lated in the inner harbor and even did a good
job of scouring its oil-fouled banks, solving in
one night a problem which would have taken
many weeks to overcome. On the morning of
September 17, the harbor was clear and clean.
A brief survey of the affected beach areas dis-
closed that the only remaining evidence of pol-
lution was black oil embedded in reef flat
crevices and impregnated in coral. The author-
ities on the island were evacuating all nones-
sential personnel because of an acute housing
shortage. Thus, we were unable to make an
underwater survey of the now oil-free inner
harbor. This was unfortunate. Even though we
have no "before pollution" data on the harbor,
it would have been of great value to have an
accurate assessment of the biological condi-
tions of a shallow confined area of this nature,
the surface of which was completely covered
with a thick film of heavy oil and the subsur-
face contaminated with light fuel for over a
week.

We estimate that about 2,500 kg of dead fish
were washed up on the south shore during the
period of maximum petroleum escapement, the
first week after the R. C. Stoner had foundered.
Our best guess is that most of the kill had oc-
curred on the shallow reef flat bordering the
coast. The available evidence appears to sup-
port this theory. Numerous groupers and squir-
relfish occurred in the kill. Apparently, all
of the squirrelfish were H. lacteoguttatus and
nearly all the groupers were C. argus. We saw
neither of these groups on any of the reef

10

shelves we surveyed, yet they are generally the
most abundant of their respective families oc-
curring in shallow water around Wake. C. argus
were frequently observed outside the reef. We
saw few H. lacteoguttatus outside the reef;
however, as with the eels, assessment of a
squirrelfish population in the daytime by visual
means is impossible, especially without using
scuba. Groupers and squirrelfish on the reef
shelf may have holed up when they sensed the
pollution, rather than escaping to uncontami-
nated water outside the reef. Thus, they would
be very vulnerable and suffer exceptionally
high mortality. As far as we could determine,
no adult humphead parrotfish, C. gibbus, was
killed. Adults of this species were not seen on
the reef shelves that had been polluted nor in
unpolluted shallow areas but were numerous
outside the reef. It is possible that young C.
gibbus were among the kill and not detected.
C. gibbus does not develop the enlarged fore-
head characteristic of the adult until it is quite
large. During the survey we were not familiar
with the appearance of the young fish. Other
species of parrotfish (these may have included
young C. gibbus) were apparently very vulner-
able to the petroleum pollutants. If one as-
sumes that adult C. gibbus were also vulner-
able, lethal pollution probably did not extend
into the deeper water outside the reef.

It is interesting to speculate as to which of
the various fuels caused the most mortality.
Within an hour after the grounding it was known
that aviation gasoline was escaping because its
distinctive smell permeated the area and even-
tually spread over most of the island to lee-
ward of the vessel. However, concurrently
with the gasoline. J-P4 jet fuel and possibly
A-1 turbine fuel were leaking. There is no
record of the extent of fish mortality or even
if any mortality had occurred the day the ship
grounded. The morning after the grounding
(September 7), black fuel oil was leaking in
large amounts and gross black oil pollution
extended along the shoreline and into the small
boat harbor. Dead and dying fish were first
noted on September 7. On September 8 there
was an extensive fish kill along the beach. All
of the aviation gasoline had apparently spilled
by the morning of September 9 as the presence
of gasoline vapor in the air could no longer be
detected. A large part of the black oil had also
spilled by September 9. but the remainder con-
tinued to escape at least through September 15.
Large quantities of aviation jet fuel, aviation

turbine fuel, and possibly diesel fuel were es-
caping through September 16. However, there
was no evidence of fish mortality subsequent to
September 10.

Near the wreck we observed that numerous
reef fishes and leatherback runners showed a
surprising tolerance to jet fuel or turbine fuel,
or both. The seaward side of the reef, below
the surface, was probably contaminated only
with light fuels, including aviation gasoline,
whereas the reef flat received both light fuels
and black oil mixed into the water by the heavy
surf.

Although admittedly poorly documented, the
evidence indicates that the petroleum product
most lethal to fish was either aviation gasoline
(which contains tetraethyl lead, a known toxic
agent) or black oil. Other oil spillages have
indicated that fish are not seriously affected
by crude oil, which is primarily confined to the
surface. Laboratory experiments have corrob-
orated this finding. However, when a large
volume of heavy oil is well churned onto a
shallow reef flat, the mortality may be ex-
pected to be high.

Considerable numbers of fish must have been
killed on the reef flat and washed out into deep
water; however, we were unable to estimate the
percentage of the kill that did not wash ashore.
By September 13, when we started our investi-
gation, fish apparently were not being affected
by oil pollution. We saw neither dead fish in the
water nor any fish showing signs of distress.

We made only cursory observations on the
invertebrates. The turbinid snails and sea
urchins were the only animals found dead in
large numbers. The population of Turbo on the
south coast of Wake may have been seriously
depleted. Damage to many of the various small
invertebrates commonly inhabiting coral reefs
may have been severe. These invertebrates
have the slowest recovery rate and thus their
depletion would have the most profound effect
on the ecosystem of the reef flat.

We observed that the fish population on the
reef front and slope was dense. This proximal
population would provide a source for rapid
recruitment to both the reef flat and the inner
harbor.

That the fish kill was negligible when com-
pared with the surviving population may be
attributed to three main factors. First, the
nature of the coastal terrain was a saving fac-
tor, composed as it is of a narrow reef flat
with the water depth dropping off rapidly along

11

the I'eef front. Places with great expanses of
shallow tidal area are far more vulnerable to
any type of contamination. Secondly, the fact
that oil was unable to pass from the inner har-
bor to the lagoon. Wake Island, of course,
does have a relatively shallow area in the la-
goon vulnerable to contamination. Had the
heavy concentration of fuels which accumulated
in the harbor entered the lagoon, a near ''total
kill" with long-lasting effects probably would
have occurred. Third, a large percentage of
the spillage entered and was trapped in the
small boat harbor where it could do relatively
little damage to marine life. Had this oil been
able to spread along the outside reefs, the kill
would have been greater.

After the typhoon a Navy salvage team found
that the wreck had broken into three sections.
All her tank tops were open to the sea and
apparently all of her cargo had been removed
by sea action.

The portion of the wreck remaining above
water was considered hazardous to the instru-
ment landing system on the runways, so the
wreck was flattened to the waterline with ex-

plosives. During the course of the demolition
operation there was minor weeping of petro-
leum products that formed a slick extending
about 1.5 km offshore. With northeasterly trade
winds prevailing there was no more shoreline
pollution.

Poor weather and shortage of the time limited
the scope of this survey, but the major short-
comings of the investigation were that we ar-
rived too late to get the full picture of the
damage, and that we had no clear concept of
the normal pre-pollution situation in the areas
we surveyed. We suggest that if at least two
trained teams of biologists, including special-
ists in fish and invertebrates, were located at
suitable laboratories on the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans, we could enhance our knowledge of the
effects of oil pollution more efficiently. The
teams would have suitable survey equipment
readily available and could be dispatched im-
mediately to any area where a petroleum pol-
lution threat is anticipated or already exists.
If possible, the group would reach the scene in
time to survey the environment and biota before
the oil arrives.

12

GPO 999-027

Oil Pollution on Wake Island from the Tanker R. C. Stoner, by Reginald M.
Gooding, Special Scientific Report — Fisheries No. 636

ERRATUM

On page 9, right column, first paragraph, line 7:

"humpback parrotfish" should read "humphead parrotfish."

/

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