Spanish coast hit with 'black tide' from spill of fuel oil

NOIA, Spain -- Waves of black sludge from a major oil spill washed ashore amid high winds and driving rain Thursday, tarring new stretches of northwest Spain's scenic coastline and further threatening the region's multimillion-dollar fishing industry.

The regional government extended a ban on fishing and shellfish harvesting declared Saturday, when oil from the tanker Prestige first reached land.

The widest ban now covers more than 186 miles of Galicia coastline from Ferrol south to Ribeiro.

About 2.7 million gallons or more of fuel oil leaked from the Bahamas-flagged tanker in several spills starting Nov. 13, when its hull cracked in a storm.

The ship finally broke in half and sank Tuesday about 150 miles off Cape Finisterre, carrying most of its 20-million-gallon cargo to the ocean floor.

On Thursday, fishermen harvested mussels, oysters and other commercially valuable shellfish ahead of schedule from estuary beds that risked contamination. Authorities deployed more oil-blocking barriers outside ports and rivers open to the ocean.

'We're afraid'

Spain's environmental minister estimated economic damages and cleanup costs at $42 million so far.

Fishing and canning is a major industry here, generating about $330 million a year.

"We're afraid the black tide will come here," said Maria Busto, 47, one of about 600 anglers standing knee-deep in the Noia estuary below Cabo Finisterre, raking cockles and clams into pails.

The normal daily quota is 55 pounds, worth about $6 per pound. But that quota was set aside because of the threat posed to the unharvested crop.

By noon, Busto had harvested 64 pounds.

The beach at Mar de Fora that escaped last week's first spill was coated Thursday with thick, smelly oil that rolled in with the surf.

At least several hundred animals have died in the spill, according to the government and environmental groups.