deepwater horizon oil spill, fisheries, seafood, and wildlife

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Fisheries, Seafood, and Wildlife

Overview

• Gulf Fisheries Concerns• Seafood Health and Safety• General Threats to Wildlife– Turtles– Mammals– Birds

Photo credit: Carolyn Shaw, LA Times

Deepwater Horizon Wellhead

Impacts to Coastal Habitats

• Vegetation coverage– Smother, stress, potential death

• Weakened marsh soils– Potential accelerated erosion from

waves and storms

• Persistence of oil and byproducts– Beaches, marshes, water column– Long-term effects?????

Photo credit: Carolyn Shaw, LA Times

Photo Credit: Dauphin Island Sea Lab

The Gulf of Mexico has more than half of the coastal wetlands in the continental U.S.

Gulf of Mexico Commercial Fisheries

• One of most productive fisheries in the world

• Dockside Value 2008 $661.4 million

• $365.5 million from shrimp

Source: NMFS 2008

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More than 3 million recreational anglers took 24 million fishing trips in the Gulf of Mexico in 2008 and contributed well over a billion dollars to the Gulf economy. Source NOAA

Fisheries Impacts?• Egg, larvae, juvenile mortality• Declines in recruitment to older class structures

– Negative impacts on rebuilding plans– Short and long-term economic impacts*

Photo credit: George Burgess, FLMNH Photo Credit: Jim Franks, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, USM

Shrimp Life Cycle

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Image credit: Dawn Witherington, FWC

Plankton

Gulf Dead Zone Concerns

Which of the following control measure(s ) is/are used to ensure the Gulf’s Commercial

Seafood Supply is and remains safe?

A. Monitoring of harvest watersB. Precautionary closures of certain

waters and fisheriesC. Hazard Analysis Critical Control

Point (HACCP)D. Sensory and analytical monitoringE. Public advisoriesF. All the above

Photo credit: Katie Semons, NOAA

Precautionary Fisheries Closures

The area closed to all fishing now measures 31,801 sq mi (82,363 sq km) and covers about 13% of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive

economic zone.

How is seafood evaluated for contamination?

• Sensory testing– Trained professionals – Detection of “taint”

• Analytical testing– water, sediments, tissues

Photo credit: Bill Haber AP Press

Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

• Product of oil degradation and incomplete combustion

• Complex and naturally occurring– Not all harmful

• Water soluble*• At high levels can

pose health risks**

Photo credit: Carolyn Carol, LA Times

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How do PAHs get into seafood?

• Uptake through Bioconcentration (filtering) or

• Biomagnification

• Grilling with contaminated coal/wood burning

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Is all seafood equally at risk to contamination?

• NO• Depends on species – (i.e. shellfish vs finfish/crustaceans)

• Exposure level & duration• Life stage• Sex• Environmental factors

(salinity/ temp)• Exposure to other

chemicals

Mollusks

Crustaceans/ Finfish

Will all exposed seafood remain contaminated?

NO!• Marine life can gradually eliminate contaminants.– Days to months depending on exposure and metabolism

Photo credit: Bryan Fluech, FSG

Dispersants: Helpful or Harmful?• Considered to have low

potential to bioaccumulate in seafood products– Not considered to pose safety

concerns*

• Factors– Exposure duration/ level– Species– Sex– Life stage– Environmental factors

• Ongoing monitoring efforts

Photo credits: NOAA

?Long-term Food Web Impacts

Wildlife Impacts3 Direct Pathways

INGESTION – when animals swallow oil particles directly or consume prey items that have been exposed to oil

ABSORPTION – when animals come into direct contact with oil

INHALATION – when animals breathe volatile chemicals released from oil or from dispersants

Photo credit: Carolyn Shaw, LA Times

Indirect Effects on Wildlife

• Relocation of home ranges to search for new sources of food–Decreased habitat use

• Increases in the amount of time animals must spend foraging– Food availability

• Disruptions to natural life cycles – Migration, nesting patterns

Image credit: Bryan Fluech, FSG

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Factors Influencing Degree of Impact

• Quantity and Duration of Exposure

• The pathway of exposure

• The age, reproductive state, and health of each animal

• The type of synthetic chemicals used by response teams to clean the spill

Image credit: UF/IFAS

Sea Turtles• 5 species in Gulf of Mexico• Adults susceptible to oil though

inhalation, ingestion• Eggs/hatchlings susceptible through

absorption• Nest Relocation Efforts

Source: Deepwater Horizon Unified Command

Photo credit: Rookery Bay NERR

Mammals21 species inhabit N Gulf of Mexico

• Skin irritation• Infection• Inhalation during

surface breathing• Ingestion– Baleen Feeding*• Bryde’s Whale

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Source: Deepwater Horizon Unified Command

Birds• Ingestion– Preening– Feeding

• Increased risk of hypothermia– Oiled plumage

Source: Deepwater Horizon Unified Command

Photo credit: Carolyn Shaw, LA Times

Thank You

Bryan FluechFlorida Sea Grant Extension Agent, Collier County

(239) 417-6210 x204fluech@ufl.edu