ANCHORAGE, April 20—Sea otters rescued from waters fouled by the Exxon Valdez oil spill fared poorly after their return to the wild last fall, and scientists working under Government contract say at least half may have perished over the winter.
Nearly 900 dead otters were found after the tanker spilled almost 11 million gallons of crude oil in March 1989. An additional 360 were netted alive and brought to rehabilitation centers at Valdez, Seward, Homer and Kodiak. About 200 were later returned to Prince William Sound but some scientists say that as many as half may have perished and that the rehabilitation effort has been largely futile...
The withholding of scientific information on the spill for legal reasons by all the parties is becoming a major source of controversy as research projects begin to generate at least preliminary data.
