The oil spill from the sunken tanker continues to spread around 185 miles of Philippines coastline – as an average of 25-50 gallons of oil continued to gush every hour — and the sludge has washed up on Panay — a large island in the central Philippines – and is endangering rich fishing grounds.
Threatening fishing grounds as ocean currents moved thin sheets of oil to the north; the slick had reached eight coastal villages. So, booms have been set-up at the most critical areas of Guimaras’ Taklong marine reserve. The booms are made from bamboo, rice straw and sacks, serving as a prototype for communities planning to use indigenous biodegradable materials to keep the oil slick from their coasts.
This is done by a crew from Greenpeace’s ship MY Esperanza and marine experts from the University of the Philippines at Visayas.
Image courtesy: Reuters
