Aquaculture company Grieg Seafood BC donated gear to the Canadian Coast Guard working to contain the oil spill near Nootka Sound.
In a statement, the company – which has a hatchery in Gold River – said that they donated mooring gear to anchor a heavy 10,000-foot-long boom in place.
On Dec.11 an active oil slick near the east end of Bligh Island in Nootka Sound was identified to be originating from a historic shipwreck that took place in the area in 1968.
READ MORE: Active marine oil slick near Nootka Sound tied to historic 1968 Bligh Island shipwreck
Grieg Seafood was approached soon after by Diversified Marine – the company contacted to help stem the oil leak– to see if they could assist with containing the active oil leak.
“It was a no brainer to get involved,” said Mike Crivea, Operations Manager for Grieg Seafood BC.
“The surrounding environment, ecosystem and communities around Nootka Sound mean a lot to us at Grieg, and if we can be a part of containing the spill, we will,” he said in the statement.
Grieg possessed the required mooring equipment on board their barge as they had used it for a recent system upgrade at one of their sites.
“This boom is very heavy. One hundred feet of it weighs probably around 6,000 lbs, so to secure a 10,000-foot boom in Nootka’s currents and tides takes a lot of planning and heavy-duty mooring equipment,” said Crivea.
The company also donated buoys, rope, chains, shackles and thimbles that the spill response crew needed.
