By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A task force involving private and public sector representatives has been established to investigate oil residue appearing on Grand Bahama’s southern shoreline.

The task force has advised the public to “exercise caution” while at the beach, especially with pets.

On Tuesday, residents and visitors encountered significant black oily substances in seaweed at Fortune Beach. Since then, an environmental activist said he had received reports of oil further east at the old Freetown and Gold Rock Creek Beaches in East End.

It is unclear whether the recent discovery is related to the fuel oil spill on August 2 at Buckeye Bahamas Hub’s marine terminal off Pinder’s Point.

Lucaya Service Company Limited (LUSCO), the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), the Port Department, and the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s environmental department are part of the task force.

“We are working together to determine the initiating cause of this incident, and it remains a high priority of the task force,” LUSCO said in a statement yesterday.

“The responding agencies, with the assistance from private citizens and non-governmental agencies, have enacted remediation protocols in conjunction with the relevant environmental agencies to ensure that swift and proper remediation of oil deposits.”

Joseph Darville, chairman of Save of the Bays and Waterkeepers Bahamas, said the situation is troubling. He called for a rigorous investigation to determine what was responsible.

“I hope a thorough investigation will be conducted because it is not related to the spill at Buckeye two weeks ago, which went into the western part of Grand Bahama,” he said, adding he believes the spill is from an oil tanker.

He said after tankers offload crude oil and leave the territory, they clean their tanks in international waters.

He believes the strong winds from the south on Sunday and Monday, along with the tide, brought oil residue to the beaches.

“The government could easily get information and find out which oil tanker discharged oil about two or three days ago during that period of time to pinpoint which tanker caused this extraordinary release of oil in the water,” he said.

“It is really terrible and awful because now we have a reputation,” he said, noting some experienced the tar/crude oil on beaches.