Major Oil Spill in Harbour

[Owen]

Corry,
You can come boating down our way. You have to be able to catch a fish before you call it fishing Past records show our area will be safe if your here
Adrian

ooooh, you're such a bitch!

I doubt you'll hear too much from the Observer saying that the fisheries will be seriously damaged.
Gladstone knows which side it's bread is buttered on

cheers,
Owen

[the_matrix]

Been reading the oil spill posts with great interest.
I would agree that media sensationalism is rife in todays world, but Im quite sure its not in this case.
I arrived at Fishermands Landing wharf (CAR) for work at 5am with the distinct smell of oil permeating the air.
My first thought was that RTS Pioneer had a spill, and as soon as I got to the end of the wharf, I had a look over the side. Being early in the morning with little light it was hard to see, but pretty obvious that the surface of the water was BLACK.
Security informed me of the accident, and as the sun rose, the true magnitude of the spill was apparent. The water as far as you could see up the narrows, and all the way down past Clinton coal facility was silky smooth and mostly black, even though by then there was 15kts of wind blowing.

Being a Cape class vessel, its size restricts harbour entry only on flood/high water tides.
Around the time of the incident the tide had peaked and was at slack water.
Once the tide started ebbing, the spill would of started to spread back down to Auckland Point and beyond.
The flood tide in the morning pushed it way back up past Fishermans landing, to Black Swan and beyond.
Fortunatley, the North side of the harbour is pretty well unaffected.
Around 6.30am, I saw the first sign of wildlife in trouble, 2 Pelicans covered in oil, unable to fly and in a pretty bad way. Not long after I saw a couple of shags in the same state.
Absolutley heart breaking to see.

God only knows the true magnitude of the damage caused to the wildlife and marine species.
The oil did reach the Anabranch and surrounds, so who knows what else has been affected.
Prawn trawlers were operating the next morning, but at a later stage of the flood, when the slick was up past the coal Berth.
Hope that sheds some light on the subject, albeit bad light
Jas

[blueringin]

I've known Lance for years when i was up that way,& he is a genuine fella, good fisherman too,he's been at it most of his life knows all the spots,& he was'nt on his own, as per the mother boat with a few dory's & deckies so they earn afew Quid each but not a lot as there are so many mouths to feed. So when u do the maths factor in guzzoline wages gear bait tucker wear & tear truckin flyin bad weather ####uating prices & so forth , its not so rose coloured, but still not a crook job at all,it.s a good experience but not a good living for a deckie. but Skippers do OK.

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Matrix..... what a load of BS!!!!

Dave

[the_matrix]

What ever you reckon, "dave"
Thats exactly what I thought of your post.
Some how I think Im a little better informed than you, considering the harbour is my place of work, and Ive been on the harbour for between ten and 12 hrs EVERY day since it happened. Add to that a colleague from CQPA who has been part of the containment team since the incident. He was one of the first called, guess that means he is on the front line in my book.
Spose you think that some of the Pelicans at Awoonga that are black, were actually born that way too eh?
Jason

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

You're as bad as the media Matrix. And yeah, Pelicans are born black aren't they??????????????/

Dave

[the_matrix]

No worries brains,
Its people like you who run off at the mouth, without a bloody clue of whats going on, listening to chinese whispers, adding a little, then passing on a bit more.
The bit about you saying that the trawlers broke the boom. Good on ya! Once again, you are wrong. The boom was opened for the Heron Island spirit, then Processor 1 went out as well. Thats when the oil entered the marina. At least 8 witness?Obviously you were not one of them, probably read that in the Local paper as well!

The Marina was well and truley contaminated by the time everyone else went out.
It was actually filmed by a the tv network when they opened it for the Spirit, which had speacial permission from the harbourmaster.

Any excuse to slip the boot in to the pro's.

You'll go well in a small town.
Jason

[camsharkman]

Top entertainment!!

Would have to agree with Reel Nauti on this one.

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

No running off with my mouth Matrix. I lived and worked in Gladstone for 40 years and have a lot of friends and family there, so I think I can say I know a little about the harbour etc as well. And as I said, a trawler ran over the boom and buggered it, probably didn't see it in the dark and may not have even known it had been put in place. (The media actually reported that a violent storm had destroyed the boom). I am aware that the marina copped some contamination and that some boats and yachts were soiled with oil residue.
And the no oil on the Barney Pt side around to Piggery Ck the very next morning is absolute fact.
Your rantings clearly demonstrate your inability to accept fact, and like the media, never let the actual facts get in the road of a good story.

Cheers
Dave

[the_matrix]

Ive just about had enough of back and forward insults so this will be the last post I reply to.
You are entitled to your opinion, so am I. You think you are right, as do I.
What I saw was worse than reported,or reported incorrectly,which you have stated as well.
Also, I didnt say you dont know anything about the harbour, my point was that I see it every day, in all tides, conditions and moods.Also, I saw the harbour EVERY day of the spill.
At no stage did I comment on Piggery ck and/or Barney point.
I guess no one likes to be told they are full of shit, you included.
If you had of replied in a different manner to start with, I doubt this would of become personal, and a better result may of played out.
Im just calling it how I see it. If you dont agree, thats fine............no need to bag someone. When you do, thats when it becomes personal.
Jas

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

I don't think it's personal Matrix, and I can't see any reason for hard feelings. As you said, we'll have to agree to disagree.

Cheers
Dave

[BladeRunner]

Dave
Was the trawler that ran over the boom and buggered it in big trouble?
You think something as series as this they would have put a tug on guard. Not a tugger.

Any way is done is done so now we wait for the outcome.
How may days, months and tears you know years before we really feel the effects.
May be its not as catastrophic as some may think. But any spill how big or how small is series enough for environmental bio diversity and our eco systems. Especially when it involves my fishing. So that’s why we the people respond in an emergency and may be the port of Gladstone has learnt by this miss hap.

We are not the first to have an oil spill and we wont be the last.
Alaska bounced back Gulf war will bounce back. We need oil its more precious than gold.
Safe boating.

BladeRunner

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Haven't seen the news about Gladstone for a while so I was wondering what happened as a result of oil/fuel spill?

Does anyone know the latest? Is the seafood ok? Did that guy with the 50k worth of live trout lose it all?
Are there birds and sealife dying?

I'm not trying to be antagonistic, I would really like to know.

Cheers and thanks
Dave

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Seafood given the greenlight for consumption. Prawns, crabs, barra, trout, salmon etc plus much more was handed to authorities for testing. Sale of seafood from the local region is allowed. No problems noted with its quality, although a small issue did arise with some prawn testing, unrelated I think to fuel oil spills.
I have not heard one word about any life forms that died and could be seen floating or washed up. The dolphins and mass bait schools never left the close area to the spill. Possible full effects will be unknown! I hid for about a week before really going for a look. Too scared!!
I think it was a huge shock to our systems, an ugly mess, and possibly not that detrimental when we talk volumes of oil per harbour tidal volumes. I still feel worried as to how easily this happened and the likelihood that it could easily happen again on a much larger scale. I often think of the tankers and bulk ships that pass by our GBR!
The trout boats are now allowed to unload from Gladstone again. The water quality tests obviously allow this! I have not gone North west deep in the mangroves to look closely, but I do find it very difficult to find much oil deposits in the local area of the spill and adjacent areas.
Johnny M

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Thanks Johnny

Went to Gladstone this weekend and had a good look around the harbour area. I could see no real aftermath of the oil spill and I personally did not witness or hear of any real damage. We spent many hours looking aroung the Nth Entrance especially as that is where a tremendous run on the ebb occurs, also along the spit off Quoin, the Oaks and Sth End. Nothing at all for me to report.
Fishing on the Sth East of Rat Is, Sue and I boated and kept 3 nice trout, 4 cod, 1 big mowie, 1 parrot. If the oil spill has effected the fishing in Gladstone harbour in anyway, it has enhanced it.
As I said in an earlier post, I think there was a lot of hue and cry at the initial stages of the spill instead of a focus on fact.
Glad to see no signs of real damage.

Cheers
Dave