marine tourism best management practices a practical guide

Marine Tourism Best Management PracticesPeople For Puget Sound • pugetsound.orgSpill Response Plans: Components of a spill recovery plan should include:1. WHO: Identify who is responsible for spill notification, response and follow up• Coast Guard National Response Center: 1 (800) 424-8802• Department of Ecology: 1 (800) OILS-9112. WHAT: Determine what types and quantities of oil spill response equipment isnecessary for a spill event and the actions needed to mitigate the impacts andrecover spilled materials3. WHEN: Define when the different types of response actions need to beimplemented and when additional assistance is to be called in4. WHERE: Specify where the spill response equipment and notification telephonenumbers are located within the marina5. HOW: Explain how the equipment should be used and disposed of.The issue: Oil contains many constituent parts but among the most problematic arepolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Crude oil consists of thousands of differentchemicals, including PAHs. Many PAHs are known cancer-causing agents because theyinteract directly with DNA (“carcinogens”) and were among the first substances to beassociated with cancer profiled in European coal tar workers in the late 1800s. PAHscan adversely affect survival, growth, metabolism, reproduction, immune function, andphotosynthesis. PAHs also tend to accumulate in sediment where they pose short term(acute) hazard to bottom dwelling (benthic) organisms that are the basis of the aquaticfood chain (www.sfei.org).PAHs also result from carbon-based combustion, woodburning and internalcombustion engines.According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, thelong term effects of PAHs on Prince William Sound after the 1989 Valdez spill were quitesurprising. When Pacific herring eggs were exposed to Alaska North Slope crude oil at aconcentration as low as 0.7 parts per billion (ppb), the result was malformations, geneticdamage, mortality, decreased size and inhibited swimming in smolts. With pink salmon,similar effects were noted at concentration levels of 1.0 ppb. Present water-qualitystandards in Alaska allow for total PAH concentrations of up to 15 ppb.(Source: Jeffrey W. Short, Research Chemist, National Marine Fisheries Service, AlaskaFisheries Science Center, Auke Bay Laboratory, 11305 Glacier Highway, Juneau, AK99801-8626. Tel: (907) 789-6065. Fax: (907) 789 6094. E-Mail: jeff.short@noaa.gov)32