Conservation group says several species have
declined over last decade.
Chronic industrial pollution and small spills
from oil tankers moving through Burrard Inlet are contributing to declining
numbers of birds in Stanley Park, according to the conservation program manager
for the Stanley Park Ecology Society.
Robyn Worcester said in the past decade
conservation group Bird Studies Canada has found a decline in the number of
loons and grebes that rely on small fish in the intertidal areas for their
food. Birds also feed on the Pacific blue mussels and barnacles that live close
to shore.
Worcester said minor oil spills aren’t the only
cause of the declines, but they do play a role along with other factors, such
as climate change and fluctuating ocean temperatures.
“We’re seeing declines of these birds,” she
said. “Maybe there is stress on their food supply, which is the small fish.
Instead of increasing the amount of pollution, I think we have to focus on
making things better.”
Worcester is one of three panelists at a
discussion Monday on the effects of oil spills on Stanley Park.
The ecology society is holding the discussion to
raise the public profile of environmental issues in Stanley Park related to
Kinder Morgan’s proposal to expand its pipeline from Alberta to the Westridge
Terminal in Burnaby. The energy company wants to more than double its capacity
from 300,000 barrels a day to 750,000. The number of tankers going through
Burrard Inlet, the company says, would increase from 96 a year to as many as
300.
Many bird species, including great blue herons, that populated Stanley Park are threatened by industrial pollution and small oil spills affecting Burrard Inlet, according the Stanley Park Ecology Society.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Pollution+spills+threaten+Stanley+Park+birds/7424078/story.html#ixzz2A2SLNA00
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