OILED SEABIRDS - COMPARATIVE INVESTIGATIONS ON OILED SEABIRDS AND OILED BEACHES IN THE NETHERLANDS, DENMARK AND GERMANY (1990-93)

In a 3-year inventory of oil pollution on the coasts of the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, oily residues from ships' engine rooms were identified as the main, common source of oil found in birds' feathers and on beaches. Illegal discharges of oil-sludge from 'normal' shipping operations lead to a widespread distribution of oil on the coasts. On this kind of pollution are superimposed single, more severe cases of pollution in the Netherlands and Germany which originate from the transport of oil and chemical products by tankers. One major new finding of the Oiled Seabirds project, however, is that the northwestern coast of Denmark is also continuously affected by crude oil pollution. Illegal discharges from crude oil tankers at the outlet of the Skagerrak are the source of this kind of pollution. The great number of cases of severe crude oil pollution in this area might mean that illegal discharges from crude oil tankers leaving the Baltic Sea are common practice. The high level of oil pollution documented on the Danish west coast and in the Netherlands indicates that the current surveillance by aircraft is inadequate, and that improvement of counter-measures is needed. The detection of products other than mineral oil, such as dodecylphenol, bis-phenol, vegetable oil or different kinds of paraffin wax, in the feathers of birds or on beaches is a second striking feature.