Northern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi) covered in spilled oil from the wreck of the MS Oliva, Nightingale island, Tristan da Cunha Group, South Atlantic Ocean

View of massive die-off of black triggerfish on the beach on Ascension Island in the southern tropical Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean

Garbage dump, Hvar island, Croatia, Southeast Europe

Garbage dump, Hvar island, Croatia, Southeast Europe

Piles of rubbish collected from beach beyond, Torloisk beach, Isle of Mull, Scotland (RR)

A worker vacuums oil from behind a containment boom on the Kalamazoo River during the cleanup of a major oil spil in which 800, 000 gallons of oil spilled from an Enbridge Energy Partners pipeline, Battle Creek, Michigan, USA

A worker vacuums oil from behind a containment boom on the Kalamazoo River during the cleanup of a major oil spil in which 800, 000 gallons of oil spilled from an Enbridge Energy Partners pipeline, Battle Creek, Michigan, USA

Commercial fishing boats have been converted to oil cleanup crews as part of the "vessels of opportunity" program managed by BP.