Shipping companies and their ships' officers will be held accountable for any illegal dumping of bilge oil in Canadian waters.

In contrast, BioMarine destroys the bilge oil with only a biological sludge remaining.

Boaters are encouraged to use bilge oil absorption pads, which are also sold in the marina store.

"The illegal and deliberate dumping of bilge oil off our coastlines is an issue that our government takes very seriously.

It was little different from its American equivalent, heavy with bilge oil and decorated with rotting wood from the piers.

A related problem in Canadian waters is the intentional dumping of bilge oil, which kills hundreds of thousands of marine birds annually.

Each year, on the Atlantic East coast alone, an estimated 300,000 seabirds are killed by recurring and illegal bilge oil discharge by some passing ships.

A final problem for Piping Plovers in Newfoundland is bilge oil (see Oil Issues).

If a catastrophic event was to occur, or if constant bilge oil dumping occurs in that area, there is a risk of losing the whole population on the Island.

"It is unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of seabirds are killed every year as a result of illegal discharges of bilge oil," said Minister Dion.

The objective of Bill C15 is to conserve migratory marine bird populations and to protect the environment in Canada’s exclusive economic zone from illegal deposits of bilge oil from ships.

Chemical "degreasers" for boat bilges are common products but the bilge oil and the chemical degreaser are often pumped into the boat harbour or ocean, with undesirable environmental results.

We all consider it shameful that off the Atlantic Coast alone, at least 300,000 sea birds are killed annually as a result of illegal discharge of bilge oil by ships passing through our waters.

"The river absorbs raw sewage from cities, pesticides and chemicals from farmers' fields, waste from factories and bilge oil from ships," a report of the Trade and Environment Database says.

The passage of Bill C-15, which is designed to bring an end to the dumping of bilge oil from ships, which results in the deaths of some 300,000 seabirds annually off the coast of Newfoundland alone.

The water was coated with the bilge oil of numberless ships, filth that would not evaporate in the low temperatures and that left a black ring on the rocky walls of the fjord as though from the bath of a slovenly giant.

The Act has clarified enforcement powers, increasing fines and enabling enforcement officers to take action to protect wildlife and marine waters. Under Bill C-15, shipping companies and their ships' officers will be held accountable for any illegal dumping of bilge oil in Canadian waters.