"Bunker oil" from the Cosco Busan led to severe developmental abnormalities in Pacific herring.

When somebody drops a few thousand gallons of oil someplace where it’s not supposed to be, there’s going to be trouble. And when there’s trouble, people try to fix it. And that “fixing” takes a lot of effort and a lot of resources. And somebody has to pay. But how much should they pay? It would be nice to have some kind of evidence supporting the answer to that question, rather than just a vengeful spirit. That kind of evidence is just what University of California-Davis researchers sought regarding herring after the 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay. They incubated herring embryos in laboratory incubators, demonstrating significant developmental impact on fish in the oil spill region, even years after the spill.

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