San Francisco Bay Oil Spill Damaged Herring
A new study says the 2007 cargo ship accident that dumped tens of thousands of gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay has caused lasting damage to the region's herring population.
The study released Monday found that Pacific herring embryos collected from shorelines left coated in oil after the Cosco Busan spill suffered unusually high death rates.
They also experienced ailments and deformities associated with exposure to the chemicals in crude oil.
By 2010, death rates had returned to normal, but the embryos still showed heart defects.
The bay's Pacific herring are the largest coastal population in the continental U.S. They are the only fish species fished commercially in the bay.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study appeared online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: Associated Press
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