PUERTO BAQUERIZO MORENO, Ecuador Conservationists set out on Saturday to capture sea lions and birds worst affected by the oil spill in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, as Charles Darwin's "enchanted isles" tackled the legacy of the ecological disaster.

As efforts foundered to clear away the semi-submerged "Jessica," the tanker that dumped about two-thirds of its fuel cargo of 240,000 gallons (908,496 liters) into the archipelago's crystalline waters after running aground last week, Galapagos National Park teams trawled the coastline with nets and cleaning materials.

But many exotic species including iguanas, flightless cormorants, sea lions and the famous Galapagos giant tortoises, a mix that inspired 19th century naturalist Darwin to devise his theory of evolution, had largely escaped contamination.

"We have spotted 40 pelicans that will need cleaning, and some sea lion pups, but we are still searching," said Galapagos National Park search team leader Mauricio Velasquez as his team clambered ashore to net a stained pelican.

"But very few animals have been affected relative to their population sizes," he added. Only two pelicans had been found dead so far.

Experts said the ecological damage was minimal because ocean currents had taken most of the spilled diesel and bunker fuel, which was to be used to power tour boats, away from the islands.

Conservationists who have flown in from around the world have also spotted a handful of giant tortoises and colorful blue-footed boobie birds that will need cleaning at special rehabilitation centers set up across the island cluster.

The species have been able to evolve in their natural habitat for thousands of years in isolation. Lying some 600 miles (950km) off the Ecuadorean mainland, the Galapagos have been inhabited by man only since the 16th century.

Wreck Won't Budge

Attempts to clear the Ecuadorean-registered "Jessica" from the prophetically named shipwreck bay, outside the tiny harbor of San Cristobal Island, have been hampered by a lack of equipment.

The Ecuadorean Navy had hoped to bring the vessel to an even keel, but stronger tugboats and more cables were needed.

Waves battering the oil-smudged wreck have broken its masts, and the U.S. Coast Guard team helping in the salvage operation said that if the boat proved too badly damaged to refloat, sinking it farther out to sea was an option.

"It's a decision for the Ecuadorean government, but it may be easiest to sink the boat, which I wouldn't recommend," said U.S. Coast Guard team leader Ed Stanton. He estimated it would take at least a week to pull the boat upright.

The ship's captain has admitted he was to blame for the accident, and faces up to five years in prison if convicted of damaging the environment -- a crime in the Galapagos.

Tarquino Arevalo, 58, told Reuters he misjudged his entry into the tiny Pacific harbor of the archipelago capital. Arevalo was being held on the island and treated for a gash in his head and dehydration after staying aboard for four days after the accident.

Experts and the government alike were optimistic the islands' unique ecosystem would not suffer any major long-term damage.

Galapagos National Park Director Eliecer Cruz has forecast the islands' ecosystem will make a full recovery within three to four years.

But local fishermen, who have helped scoop the fuel by hand with buckets, fear that their livelihoods and tourism on the island are in peril and accuse the government of being slow to tackle the spill.

Seen from above, the Pacific was streaked with oily rainbows, but the stain had largely broken up, with patches of pale blue from chemical agents sprayed from converted fishing boats.

A thin slick of diesel had spread as far as Santa Cruz and Santa Fe islands, but the pollution on their shores had been negligible.

(Reuter)