The massive oil slick coating beaches around south-east Queensland will get worse before it gets better, the Queensland Government says.
Moreton and Bribie Island and southern parts of the Sunshine Coast have been declared disaster zones and today Queensland's Sustainability Minister Andrew McNamara warned the worst is yet to come.
"There's going to be oil floating around out there coming ashore over a period of a couple of weeks," he said.
Yesterday the Government said it believed the slick would be cleaned up within seven days, but now it is thought that up to 100,000 litres of oil may have spilled into the sea from a stricken cargo ship on Wednesday.
About 130 people are involved in the clean-up and preventing the oil from spreading further into rivers.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has defended the Government's response so far amid accusations that it has failed to act quickly enough.
"You don't walk in on day one and take all of the sand off the beach only to have more oil overnight coming in on the tide necessitating more sand be taken off on the second and the third day," she said.
"These are sensitive environments and you need to be systematic and clear it with almost military precision."
Vaughan Nash from Maroochy Waterwatch says oil has now reached the Maroochy Bridge, about two kilometres upstream from the mouth of the Maroochy River.
Mr Nash says it is now threatening mangroves.
"We're still seeing wildlife out on the river," he said.
"We saw a few pelicans only about 50 metres behind a few of the slicks and a fish actually jumping through the slicks as well.
"[That was] pretty amazing; we didn't expect a mullet to jump out through an oil slick like that, particularly a thick one as it was."
Up to 100,000 litres of oil leaked into Moreton Bay after the Pacific Adventurer cargo ship was holed on Wednesday morning, and the slicks are now blanketing 60 kilometres of Queensland's coastline.
Moreton and Bribie Island and southern parts of the Sunshine Coast have been declared disaster zones and today Queensland's Sustainability Minister Andrew McNamara warned the worst is yet to come.
"There's going to be oil floating around out there coming ashore over a period of a couple of weeks," he said.
Yesterday the Government said it believed the slick would be cleaned up within seven days, but now it is thought that up to 100,000 litres of oil may have spilled into the sea from a stricken cargo ship on Wednesday.
About 130 people are involved in the clean-up and preventing the oil from spreading further into rivers.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has defended the Government's response so far amid accusations that it has failed to act quickly enough.
"You don't walk in on day one and take all of the sand off the beach only to have more oil overnight coming in on the tide necessitating more sand be taken off on the second and the third day," she said.
"These are sensitive environments and you need to be systematic and clear it with almost military precision."
Vaughan Nash from Maroochy Waterwatch says oil has now reached the Maroochy Bridge, about two kilometres upstream from the mouth of the Maroochy River.
Mr Nash says it is now threatening mangroves.
"We're still seeing wildlife out on the river," he said.
"We saw a few pelicans only about 50 metres behind a few of the slicks and a fish actually jumping through the slicks as well.
"[That was] pretty amazing; we didn't expect a mullet to jump out through an oil slick like that, particularly a thick one as it was."
Up to 100,000 litres of oil leaked into Moreton Bay after the Pacific Adventurer cargo ship was holed on Wednesday morning, and the slicks are now blanketing 60 kilometres of Queensland's coastline.
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