Qld seafood given all-clear after spill

Seafood from southeast Queensland coastal waters has been given the final all-clear
in time for the Easter rush, after massive efforts to clean up a toxic oil spill.
Qld Primary Industries and Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin said consumers could rest
assured that the region's seafood was not contaminated by fuel oil spilled from the
cargo ship Pacific Adventurer.
The vessel leaked 250 tonnes of fuel off Moreton Island, near Brisbane, earlier this
month in the state's worst ever oil spill.
Mr Mulherin said the results meant commercial fishers in the area would no longer
have their catch tested before market.
"To date, 51 samples taken from 48 sites throughout the area affected by the oil
spill near Moreton Island have now been tested," Mr Mulherin said.
"The seafood samples have been through rigorous safety and suitability testing for
effects of the oil spill which has found the product meets stringent Queensland
Health requirements for consumers."
However, commercial fishers who decide to operate near Moreton Island will need to
be cautious around the location where a number of shipping containers were lost from
the Pacific Adventurer.
The navy has located 24 containers packed with ammonium nitrate that fell overboard
from the vessel amid cyclonic seas and pierced the ship's fuel storage tanks.
The state government is yet to decide how to deal with the containers.
Moreton Island and parts of Bribie Island, hit by the oil spill, are still out of
bounds for campers and vehicles.
A Queensland Transport spokesman said an announcement would most likely be made over
the weekend on whether Moreton Island would be opened in time for Easter.
Sand sifting machines are being used to clean up the environmental disaster, which
affected birds, turtles and sea snakes.
RSPCA Queensland has sent a team to help wildlife on Bribie Island and has another
team on standby for Moreton Island.
During the clean-up, toxic waste was dumped on a vacant property owned by a Greens
party candidate in last weekend's Queensland election, Andrew Jeremijenko.
Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ), which is coordinating the mopping-up effort, said
the site would be decontaminated.
"Every effort was made to identify any owners of properties abutting the response
area, and any site impacted by the clean-up efforts will be fully remediated," a MSQ
spokesman said.
He said the clean-up costs would likely run into the millions.
The costs will be recovered from Pacific Adventurer's insurance.