On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Its ruptured hull poured nearly 11 million gallons of oil into the water, endangering one of the world's richest fishing grounds, contaminating more than 400 miles of coastline, and killing wildlife. A thick, black coating formed on beaches. Every part of the food chain was affected. As a result of the Exxon Valdez spill, millions of fish, thousands of sea birds, and hundreds of sea otters washed ashore, oil-soaked and dead. Flocks of migrating birds and animals that fed and bred in the spill area could not return safely. Oil fumes damaged their eyes and lungs. Some ingested contaminated oil, which damaged their livers.