The Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s impact · Did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cause skin lesions on fish? • There was an increase in skin lesions on offshore marine fish •

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s impact:Extending science for collaborative

management

GCFI 2016

Christine Hale

Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program

Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Source: Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA)

April 20, 201011 people killed

Oil flowed for 87 days200 million gallons oil

1.84 million gallons dispersant

Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

$500 million, 10-year investment

Goal - Improve society’s ability to understand, respond to, and mitigate the effects of petroleum pollution and related stressors

Focus areas: 1. How do oil and dispersants move around the

environment?2. How do oil and dispersants break down over time? 3. How do oil and dispersants impact the environment?4. How can technology be improved? 5. How do oil spills impact people?

Learn more at gulfresearchinitiative.org

gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach

Photos: GoMRI

• University-based programs (33)

• Partially funded by NOAA and states

• Three areas of emphasis– Research

– Education

– Extension

• Service-oriented

• Trusted/non-advocacy honest brokers

• 50 years of serving the nation’s coasts


What is Sea Grant?

Mission: Enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources in order to create a sustainable economy and environment

Oil Spill Science – Outreach Team

Chris Hale

Larissa Graham

Monica Wilson

Emily Maung-Douglass

Steve Sempier

&


Tara Skelton

• Fishing industry, commercial

• Fishing industry, for-hire

• Fishing industry, recreational

• Policy makers

• Emergency responders/managers

• Environmental non-profit staff

• Natural resource managers

• Public health officials

• Tourism industry

• GoMRI outreach specialists

• University/college researchers

• Oil & gas industry consultants

Our Target Audiences

A BP decontamination facility in the Pascagoula River, MS. Credit: NOAA.

Booms made out of pom-poms are set to protect the sandy beach area. Credit: NOAA.

Researchers discuss field observations with NOAA's Natural Resources Damage Assessment. Credit: NOAA.


Oil Spill Science – Outreach products

Sharing peer-reviewed, published science

– Science outreach publications

• Focused on science topics identified by our audiences


• Fisheries management• Seafood testing• Series about dispersants• Frequently asked questions• Oil on our beaches• Fish health• Impacts on fisheries

Oil Spill Science – Outreach products

Sharing peer-reviewed, published science

– Science seminars & input sessions

• Presentations by experts

• Continue to identify needs of audiences


Ecosystem Impacts


Understanding fisheries impacts from oil spills: 3 level approach

How do oil spills impact a group of living things of the same species?

How do oil spills impact many different kinds of living things in an area or habitat?

How do oil spills impact individuals?


BUT chemicals in oil can cause: • Decreased swimming speed• Decreased size• Deformities• Sensitivity and impact varies

by fish life stage/age, & concentration of oil

FISH are good at breaking down the bad stuff in oil!• Oil metabolizing gene (CYP1A) triggers

production of proteins that will breakdown PAHs in fish

• Animals without CYP1A bioaccumulate• CYP1A is a biomarker for oil exposure in fish

Individual fish impacts

gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreachgulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach

Mager et al. 2014; Incardona et al. 2014; Dubansky et al. 2013

B. Dubansky

A. Bullard

http://gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach

Did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cause skin lesions on fish?

• There was an increase in skin lesions on offshore marine fish

• There was an increase in PAHs in locations with lesioned fish during the same time period

• The PAHs found in the lesioned fish were similar to the PAHs in DWH oil samples, but it is not 100% certain that DWH oil caused the lesions

Murawski et al. 2014

Individual fish impacts

van der Ham & der Mutsert 2014

Population impacts


Community Impacts

• Pre-spill normal diet :

– shrimp, crabs, squid but also a 15 – 20% zooplankton

• Post-spill diet shift attributed to DWH

– more fish & crustaceans and less zooplankton

Tarnecki & Patterson 2015


• Deep sea fish are exposed to PAHs in different ways

• Fish habitat and fish behavior play a key role in exposure

• Oiled sediments exposed golden tilefish to higher levels of PAH for a few years after the oil spill

• Episodic exposure; source of PAH not determined

Community Impacts


(art by Able, Grimes & Jones)

Snyder et al. 2015

Oil spill planning & management

Flower Garden Banks National

Marine Sanctuary 2016 workshop


Potential oil producing areas in the North Cuban Basin. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Oil spill planning & management

Spill map (Source: Center of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution)

• University of Puerto Rico workshop 2017…Stay tuned!

• Tomorrow! Join us at 2 pm for our Sea Grant input session to continue the conversation! We want your feedback!

• “GOMOSES” conference in February 2017


Upcoming opportunities


Thank you!

Science and Information Needs for Gulf and Caribbean Regional Stakeholders

Christine Hale

Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program

GCFI 2016

We want your input!

• What oil spill-related information needs do you or your communities have?

• Have you or your communities been affected by an oil spill? How?

• Are you involved in oil spill response, management, policy, or research?

• How do you envision collaborating across the region?


Documents

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s impact · Did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cause skin lesions on fish? • There was an increase in skin lesions on offshore marine fish •