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A bird that has traces of oil removed that prevent it from flying. It’s happening this winter in Brittany. However, no major oil spill has affected the region since 1999 and the sinking of the Erika. These oil spills are the consequence of the sinking of an oil tanker … in 1980. 41 years after having sunk off the island of Batz, the Tanio again affects marine life. “Last winter, we started to have reports of several birds. We said to ourselves: “There is something that is not normal”“Says Sophie Bahé, director of Vigipol. Analyzes were carried out on the soiled feathers by Cedre, which is the expert body, and which showed a similarity with oil from Tanio. Over this winter, the order of size is 150 oiled birds against a maximum of forty in previous years.
In March 1980, 12,500 tonnes of fuel oil spilled into the Channel. 160 km of coastline are affected. 40,000 birds die from it. Some of the birds found over the past two years have been taken to care centers. In total, the LPO of Ile Grande (Côtes d’Armor) has cared for 62 oiled birds since October 2020. 8 of them could be released. In September 2020, a year after the first reports of oiled birds, the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic had sealed breaches in the wreck of the Tanio. On January 6 and 7, 2021, a new observation mission revealed that 3 of the 10 plates installed were torn off by fishing gear, causing a new oil leak.
For its part, the prefecture says “study possible modes of action“and wishes to educate fishermen in the area”the risk that trawling poses a threat to the integrity of the wreck. “
