An oil spill off China’s eastern coast kept hidden from the public for weeks has caused long-term environmental damage that will hurt the area’s fishing industry, state media reported yesterday.
Dead seaweed and rotting fish could be seen in waters around Nanhuangcheng Island in Shandong Province, near the site of an oil spill that began early or in the middle of last month, but was only made public on Friday, the China Daily said.
“The environmental impact caused by the oil leak is long-term,” the newspaper quoted an local fisheries association official, surnamed Xiao, as saying.
Nanhuangcheng Island is about 75km from the offshore oil field in Bohai Bay where the leak happened.
“The oil leak will definitely influence the fishing industry nearby,” Xiao said, adding the extent was being assessed.
State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) tried to stem anger over its failure to warn the public about the spill, saying government authorities were aware of the incident all along.
“We reported the spills to authorities soon after they took place and treatment of the spills is under supervision,” CNOOC spokesman Jiang Yongzhi (蔣永智) was quoted as telling the Global Times.
The spill at one point had grown into an “oil belt” about 3km long and 30m wide, the paper said.
The spill was first reported by a member of the public on the popular Chinese micro-blogging site Sina Weibo on June 21.
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