Impact on Marine Life and Ocean Ecosystems
According to Horton , ten years after the 1989 oil spill, only twenty-three species have fully recovered. Populations of Loons, harbor seals, harlequin ducks, and pacific herring are still recovering as of 2004. However, an article done on the oil spill twenty-five years later showed that the oil still persists underneath boulders and cobbles of the affected areas. Sea otters have only just recovered while other species like the Pacific herring are not recovering at all.