The document summarizes restoration projects undertaken in response to the 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay. An estimated 6,849 birds of 65 species were killed by the spill. Partners led projects to enhance prey availability for wintering surf scoters, one of the most impacted species. Studies estimated mortality for each species and the number of injuries to inform scaling restoration actions to benefit injured populations.

1. Restora(on
Projects
The
mission
of
the
U.S.
Department
of
the
Interior's
(DOI)
Natural
Resource
Damage
Assessment
and
Restora(on
Program
(NRDAR
Program)
is
to
restore
natural
resources
injured
as
a
result
of
oil
spills
or
hazardous
substance
releases
into
the
environment.
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On
November
8,
2007,
the
freighter
Cosco
Busan
struck
the
Bay
Bride
as
it
aPempted
to
depart
San
Francisco
Bay.
The
accident
created
a
gash
in
the
hull
of
the
vessel,
causing
it
to
spill
Intermediate
Fuel
Oil
(IFO-­‐380)
into
the
Bay.
Oil
escaped
the
vessel
for
approximately
53
minutes,
allowing
53,569
gallons
to
leak.
AYer
that,
the
vessel
was
shiYed
such
that
oil
could
no
longer
leak.
Wind
and
currents
quickly
took
some
of
the
oil
outside
of
the
Bay,
where
it
impacted
the
outer
coast.
Inside
the
Bay,
the
oil
primarily
impacted
waters
and
shoreline
within
the
central
por(on
of
the
Bay.
Clean-­‐up
opera(ons
recovered
an
es(mated
22,991.5
gallons
of
oil,
both
from
beaches
from
on-­‐
water
opera(ons
in
the
days
immediately
aYer
the
spill.
The
remaining
30,577.5
gallons
of
oil
either
remains
on
beaches
where
it
is
buried
or
cannot
be
removed,
washed
to
sea,
or
evaporated.
Enhancing
Prey
Availability
for
Wintering
and
Migra7ng
Surf
Scoters
Restora7on
Partners:
• Na7onal
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administra7on
• Na7onal
Park
Service
• United
States
Fish
and
Wildlife
Service
• Bureau
of
Land
Management
• California
Department
of
Fish
and
Game
• California
State
Lands
Commission
• Community
volunteers
Cosco
Busan
vessel
Beaches
closed
due
to
spill
Volunteer
cleanup

2. Bird
Injury
Summary:
In
the
two
years
aLer
the
spill,
the
trustees
performed
over
70
studies.
These
are
the
results
as
of
September
2011
• Collected
Alive:
1084
• Cleaned
and
Released:
295
• Collected
Dead:
1856
• Percent
of
Shorebirds
Oiled:
14.6%
Es7mated
Dead:
Scoters,
large
divers
1624
Large
Grebes
1071
Small
Grebes,
Duck
780
Brown
Pelicans
22
Cormorants
507
Gulls
236
Fulmars
134
Common
Murres
633
Marbled
Murrelets
13
Other
Alcids
137
Shorebirds
1422
Other
270
Total
6849
Bird
Injury
Summary
Scoters,
large
divers
Large
Grebes
Small
Grebes,
Ducks
Brown
Pelicans
Cormorants
Gulls
Fulmars
Common
Murres
Marbled
Murrelets
Other
Alcids
Shorebirds
Other
Live
and
dead
bird
intake
data
were
collected
as
a
normal
part
of
the
spill
response.
About
6,849
birds
were
es(mated
killed,
represen(ng
65
different
species,
as
concluded
in
the
Cosco
Busan
Oil
Spill
Damage
Assessment
and
Restora(on
Plan/
Environmental
Assessment.
Birds
are
especially
vulnerable
to
oil
spills,
as
the
oil
compromises
the
ability
of
their
feathers
to
keep
them
warm
in
the
cold
ocean
waters.
With
a
rapid
metabolism,
birds
also
suffer
starva(on
when
they
cannot
forage
for
a
few
days.
Spill-­‐related
mortality
was
es(mated
for
each
species
and
all
injuries
within
each
grouping
were
counted
when
scaling
poten(al
restora(on
ac(ons.
A
rehabilitated
surf
scoter
survival
study
was
conducted
by
the
Oiled
Wildlife
Care
Network
to
evaluate
the
success
of
their
rehabilita(on
efforts
with
regard
to
Surf
Scoters,
the
bird
species
collected
in
the
greatest
numbers.
The
results
showed
that
26%
of
the
rehabilitated
birds
were
confirmed
alive
several
months
aYer
the
spill,
and
only
16%
were
confirmed
dead.

3.
According
to
the
Cosco
Busan
Oil
Spill
Damage
Assessment
and
Restora(on
Plan,
marine
habitats
along
the
affected
coast
are
among
the
most
produc(ve
in
the
world
as
evidenced
by
the
numbers
of
seabirds
supported
year-­‐round.
These
popula(ons
forage
in
nearshore
waters
and
are
highly
dependent
on
the
produc(ve
waters
of
marine
sanctuaries
and
in
nearshore
waters.
Surf
Scoters
are
diving
ducks
that
feed
primarily
on
mussels,
crabs,
and
herring
eggs.
This
species
occurs
regularly
along
the
California
coast
and
San
Francisco
Bay
in
winter
aYer
migra(ng
from
the
north.
For
Surf
Scoters,
a
species
that
forages
in
the
water,
even
a
rela(vely
small
amount
of
oil
may
result
in
death
due
to
the
severity
of
the
effects
of
oil
on
birds.
To
assist
with
scoter
popula(on
restora(on,
the
U.S.
Department
of
the
Interior’s
U.S.
Geological
Survey
(USGS)
proposed
to
deploy
two
types
of
prey
enhancement
treatments
in
San
Francisco
Bay:
herrings
eggs
on
kelp
(HEOK)
and
mussels.
2,940
birds
were
ini(ally
collected
live
and
dead
A
212-­‐foot
gash
in
the
hull
of
the
Cosco
Busan
421
birds
were
cleaned
and
released
During
the
pilot
period,
raYs
and
aPachment
lines
were
deployed
within
the
sub(dal
waters
of
Richardson
Bay
Audubon
Center.
USGS
data
from
radio-­‐marked
scoters
indicate
that
they
respond
numerically
to
Richardson
Bay
spawning
events.
à
Fact
Sheets:
Yearly
updates
on
collected
data,
future
restora7on
plans,
and
restora7on
progress
• Cosco
Busan
Oil
Spill
Environmental
Contaminants
Program
• NRDAR
Planning
Update
|
May
2008
• NRDAR
Planning
Update
|
Oct
2008
• NRDAR
Planning
Update
|
Oct
2009
• 2011
Trustee
Council
News
Update
• 2013
Trustee
Council
News
Update
• 2014
Trustee
Council
News
Update
• 2015
Trustee
Council
News
Update

4.
USGS
researchers
expect
that
the
proposed
prey
enhancements
will
improve
scoter
body
condi(on
and
carrying
capacity
which
in
turn
should
lead
to
higher
survival,
earlier
migra(on,
and
increased
produc(vity.
Herring
eggs
on
kelp
(HEOK)
were
aPached
to
mobile,
floa(ng
raYs
no
larger
than
2,500
square
feet.
Addi(onally,
substrates
for
natural
mussel
recruitment
were
made.
Mussels
grown
under
these
condi(ons
(e.g.
on
raYs,
structures
at
aquaculture
farms,
etc.)
are
more
abundant,
larger,
aPached
more
weakly,
and
thinner-­‐shelled,
making
them
vulnerable
to
scoters.
The
raYs
on
which
the
prey
were
deployed
were
temporary,
mobile
structures
consis(ng
of
metal,
wood
or
plas(c
frames
from
which
giant
kelp
is
suspended,
a
technique
commonly
known
as
the
“open
pond”
method.
The
raYs
were
then
suspended
under
a
suitable
permanent
structure
(e.g.
pier
or
dock).
To
measure
the
impact
of
prey
enhancements,
all
pilot
substrates
were
monitored
to
determine
prey
recruitment,
scoter
use,
es(mated
energy
gain
of
scoters
as
a
func(on
of
prey
densi(es,
and
changes
in
scoter
carrying
capacity.
Ten
kelp
blades
were
sampled.
From
those
samples,
smaller
rectangles
were
removed
and
weighed
aYer
herring
spawn.
AYer
this,
remaining
herring
eggs
were
removed,
weighed,
and
enumerated.
Similarly,
mussels
in
the
sample
were
enumerated,
weighed,
and
measured.
The
energy
expended
by
scoters
and
the
energy
content
of
mussels
suggest
that
a
scoter
could
be
supported
on
48
mussels
a
day.
By
factoring
in
the
size
and
amount
of
mussel
produc(on
by
a
single
(30
Y.
by
34
Y.)
raY
in
one
year,
the
equa(on
suggests
that
a
single
raY
can
support
as
many
as
9,375
scoters
a
day
over
the
winter.
This
informa(on
was
used
to
determine
the
number
of
treatments
to
install
to
support
the
desired
number
of
scoters.
RaYs
were
inspected
every
two
weeks
to
ensure
hardware,
lines,
and
buoy
aPachments
were
in
good
repair.
Surf
Scoters
in
flight
USGS
researchers
set
up
a
raY
in
Richardson
Bay
designed
to
feed
Surf
Scoters

5. Budget
for
Restora7on
Project:
Enhancing
Prey
Availability
for
Wintering
and
Migra7ng
Surf
Scoters
Damaged
by
the
Cosco
Busan
Oil
Spill
Task
Labor
(USD)
Benefits
(USD)
Travel
(USD)
Supplies
and
Expend-­‐
ables
(USD)
Lands
and
Rights
of
Way
(USD)
Direct
Total
(USD)
Indirect
Costs
(USD)
Total*
(USD)
Si(ng
and
Perminng
(USGS)
8443
1889
585
1000
1000
12917
904
13821
Si(ng
and
perminng
(Audubon
California)
8400
1200
0
0
0
9600
960
10560
Design,
construc(on,
deployment,
raY
maintenance
18166
3269
870
12000
0
34305
2401
36706
Monitoring
scoter
and
prey
response
6563
733
1070
600
0
8966
628
9594
Project
management
and
repor(ng
1640
603
0
0
0
2243
157
2400
Totals
73081
*No
costs
for
services
and
consultants,
equipment,
or
other
direct
costs