Assessment and rehabilitation of wildlife affected by an oil spill in Puerto Rico

On 7 January 1994, the barge Morris J. Berman spilled approximately 3.6 million liters of oil off Punta Escambrón in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This resulted in the contamination of extensive areas, impacting on natural resources along more than 48 km of Puerto Ricoʹs north shore. Thousands of dead and live oiled organisms washed ashore. Dead wildlife were collected opportunistically, and examined for the presence of oil and identified. Live wildlife was cleaned and treated at a temporary triage facility. A total of 5687 organisms of over 152 species were collected, including cnidarians, annelids, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms, fishes, birds and sea turtles. Molluscs and echinoderms were noticeably more affected than other species. Four species classified as endangered or threatened were also affected. A significant impact was observed on the live specimens presented for medical treatment, including shore crabs, birds and sea turtles. Only 63% of these were successfully rehabilitated.