Hawaii Molasses Spill Could Attract More Predators To Area, Requires Federal Aid For Cleanup

A Hawaii molasses spill is causing environmental hazards as it's likely to attract predators to the area. The contents of the spill are not immediately harmful to the environment, but it is causing fish to die and could therefore bring predatory creatures to the area such as sharks and eels. The state of Hawaii formally asked for federal aid Saturday in cleaning up the 1,400-ton spill that is permeating the Honolulu Harbor. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will send two spill experts to the site Sunday. There are approximately 2,000 dead fish that have been collected from the harbor.

Matson Navigation Co. caused the spill, which occurred Monday. A spokesman for the company said that it was unprepared for the possibility of a spill. The spill happened because of a leak in a cargo boat's pipeline. At 8 a.m., the Coast Guard was notified that the water in the harbor was discolored, with a plume of the material headed toward Keehi Lagoon.The health department advised no one consume the fish in the area and that swimmers stay out of the contaminated waters. Fish were bobbing at the surface as the molasses disrupted their oxygen intake. "This is the worst environmental damage to sea life that I have come across, and it's fair to say that this is a biggie, if not the biggest, that we've had to confront in the state of Hawaii," Deputy Director Gary Gill told KHON.