Quick take:
Black tar balls dotted Manresa State Beach over the weekend, alarming at least one visitor and prompting a report to the state oil spill hotline, but wildlife officials say the material is consistent with naturally occurring oil seepage pushed north by winter storms. While state crews found nothing unusual, a local resident spent hours removing dozens of pounds of tar from the shoreline.
Manresa State Beach didn’t look like it’s typical self over the weekend as black tar balls, most likely determined to be remnants of natural oil seepage, dotted the shoreline.
Walking his dog there on Friday, Santa Cruz resident Dan Weston was shocked to see the “black gobs of goo all over” the beach south of Aptos.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said. “I grew up here. I live in Live Oak, and I go frequently [to Manresa]. I surf up and down the coast. Never seen anything like it before.”
Weston was alarmed when he saw one bird covered in tar and struggling to swim. He called Santa Cruz-based non-profit, Native Animal Rescue for the bird and also reported the tar balls to the state’s oil spill hotline.
Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Eric Laughlin told Lookout on Monday that the department sent a crew out on Saturday and determined the tar balls aren’t out of the ordinary. In fact, they’re a naturally occurring phenomenon.
Laughlin said winter storms often push naturally occurring oil seepage from the south northward. The oil seepage is common offshore from Big Sur, San Luis Obispo County and further south near Santa Barbara. Based on the department’s assessment of this incident, he said, the tar is from natural seepage and not produced or related to a manmade oil spill.
The oil leaks from the ocean floor and “weathers in the water, and by the time it reaches the beach it often appears as a tar ball,” he said. “Our team went out and looked at it, and there was nothing out of the ordinary. It’s consistent with what commonly occurs in the winter.”
Tar balls are black, sticky and can smell strongly. They can be coin-sized or a couple inches in diameter. Fish and Wildlife advises that people avoid touching them, and if contact with tar is unavoidable, use soap or baby oil to wash it off.
Laughlin said naturally occurring oil can hurt seabirds but he didn’t know of any confirmed cases from this incident. He advised anyone who sees wildlife impacted by oil to not approach them and to instead call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at 1-877-UCD-OWCN. He added the California Office of Emergency Services posts all oil spill reports publicly on their website.
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Weston said he wasn’t so sure about the tar balls coming from natural seepage, as the state employee told him. Concerned the tar balls could negatively impact the beach, he returned to the beach on Saturday, the day after he reported the oil. For several hours, he said he and his brother put gloves on and picked up and removed 60 to 80 pounds of the tar balls.
“It’s never happened before so it seems a little odd,” he said. “If it’s natural, it’s natural. So be it. That doesn’t mean it’s nice. If it’s not natural, then there should be an investigation.”
As he and his brother cleaned up the tar balls, he said other people were on the beach and enjoying it as they would any other day. Dogs and children played on the shoreline.
But his feet were covered in tar and his shoes were “trashed.” He picked up tar balls that ranged from 2 x 2 inches to 10 x 7 inches in size.
For more information on tar balls, click here.