Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Fisheries, Seafood, and Wildlife

1. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Fisheries, Seafood, and Wildlife

2. Overview • Gulf Fisheries Concerns • Seafood Health and Safety • General Threats to Wildlife • Turtles • Mammals • Birds Photo credit: Carolyn Shaw, LA Times

3. Deepwater Horizon Wellhead

4. Impacts to Coastal Habitats The Gulf of Mexico has more than half of the coastal wetlands in the continental U.S. Photo credit: Carolyn Shaw, LA Times • 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: Dauphin Island Sea Lab

5. Gulf of Mexico Commercial Fisheries 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 • One of most productive fisheries in the world • Dockside Value 2008 $661.4 million • $365.5 million from shrimp Source: NMFS 2008 Photo credit: Tx Parks and Wildlife Photo credit- shrimp, crab, oysters: Katie Semons, NOAA Shrimp Blue crab Oysters Menhaden

6. 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 Image credit: TX Parks and Wildlife Shrimp Life Cycle Image credit: Dawn Witherington, FWC

7. Plankton

8. Gulf Dead Zone Concerns

9. Which of the following control measure(s ) is/are used to ensure the Gulf’s Commercial Seafood Supply is and remains safe? • Monitoring of harvest waters • Precautionary closures of certain waters and fisheries • Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) • Sensory and analytical monitoring • Public advisories • All the above Photo credit: Katie Semons, NOAA

10. 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.

11. How is seafood evaluated for contamination? • Sensory testing • Trained professionals • Detection of “taint” • Analytical testing • water, sediments, tissues Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry Photo credit: Bill Haber AP Press

12. 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 http://outdoorgasbbqgrills.com/outdoor-gas-bbq-grills-chicken-Mat-the-W.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Exhaust.jpg

13. How do PAHs get into seafood? • Uptake through Bioconcentration (filtering) or • Biomagnification • Grilling with contaminated coal/wood burning Slide credit: Dr. Steve Otwell, Florida Sea Grant

14. Is all seafood equally at risk to contamination? Mollusks • NO • Depends on species • (i.e. shellfish vs finfish/crustaceans) • Exposure level & duration • Life stage • Sex • Environmental factors (salinity/ temp) • Exposure to other chemicals Crustaceans/ Finfish

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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 Photo credit: Carolyn Shaw, LA Times

19. 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

20. 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

21. Mammals21 species inhabit N Gulf of Mexico • Skin irritation • Infection • Inhalation during surface breathing • Ingestion • Baleen Feeding* • Bryde’s Whale Photo Credits: NOAA NMFS Source: Deepwater Horizon Unified Command

22. Birds • Ingestion • Preening • Feeding • Increased risk of hypothermia • Oiled plumage Photo credit: Carolyn Shaw, LA Times Source: Deepwater Horizon Unified Command

23. Thank You Bryan Fluech Florida Sea Grant Extension Agent, Collier County (239) 417-6210 x204 fluech@ufl.edu