Oil pollution toxicity to marine fish increased scientific knowledge on the specific effects of oil pollution toxicity to marine fish. Focused research on oil pollution toxicity to fish began in earnest in 1989, after the "Exxon Valdez" tanker struck a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska and spilled approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil into the surrounding water. At the time, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was the largest in the history of the United States. There were many adverse ecological impacts of the spill including the loss of the loss of billions of Pacific herring and pink salmon eggs. Pacific herring were just beginning
1989 Narragansett Bay oil spill 1989 Narragansett Bay oil spill On June 23, 1989, several hundred thousand gallons of fuel oil were spilled at the mouth of the Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island after the tanker MV "World Prodigy" ran aground on a reef near Aquidneck Island. "World Prodigy", a long ship operated by Ballard Shipping under the Greek flag, was inbound to Providence and Tiverton, Rhode Island when at about 16:40 local time she ran aground on Brenton Reef, about offshore from Brenton Point State Park, after passing the wrong side of a buoy marking the channel. She had a cargo of about 8.1