DWH Impacts on Fish, Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems An Evolving Picture

Transcription

1 DWH Impacts on Fish, Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems An Evolving Picture Steven Murawski University of South Florida Oil Spill Science Seminar SeaGrant/GSMFC March 18, 215 1

2 Impacts on Fisheries An Outline Impacts on Fisheries Catch, value, demand Social Impacts (displacement) Seafood Safety and Potential Exposure Chronic vs. Event-oriented Impacts (exposure vectors and oil remaining in the environment) Oil Spill Impacts on Fished Populations: Direct Mortalities Adults, juveniles, larvae Sub-lethal (growth, recruitment, immune, reproductive, genotoxic) Future Work & Final Thoughts

3 Changes in Commercial Landings and Value Metric Tons (thousands) White + Brown Shrimp Value ($ millions) Red Snapper 22 2 Metric Tons Value ($ millions)

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5 Analysis Ongoing of Spatial Displacement & Impacts on Catch and CPUE Reef Fishes Second half k records 1 X 1 min cell 5

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7 Skin Ulcers on Red Snapper Southern hake Conger eel tilefish 7

8 211 vs. 212 Transactions of the American Fisheries Society July, 214 USF Press Release Headline: Skin Lesions and Oil Residue in Some Gulf of Mexico Fishes Have Declined in the Years Following Deepwater Horizon Reuters Story Headline: Research shows Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused lesions in fish -scientists 213 mean prevalence = 1.4% 214 mean prevalence =.6% 8

9 21 Disentangling DWH from Other Oil Sources 9

10 Ongoing Contamination Studies 1

11 Gall Bladder Sampled for Bile PAHs & metabolites 11

12 5 213 Data Tilefish ug g -1 2 Red Snapper 1 King Snake Eel Red Snapper Bile metabolites concentrations of PAHs in NGoM Fishes

13 DWH Fish Comparisons to Some Global Baselines GOOMEX 13

14 PAH Profiles of Oil & Fish Livers Very Close Resemblance between 56 specimens of Livers of Red Snappers from NGM and Macondo oil profiles (r 2 =.82) Similar situation in Exxon Valdez with Pink Salmon 14

15 Major Sediment Discoveries Significant quantities of oil remain trapped in deep-sea sediments (4-1% of the total oil released to the ocean) Spatial & temporal offset between surface oil coverage & foot-print of sedimentary oil deposition 85 DayGridded Average Surface Coverage Oil-Cover April August Red = >9% 21 Yellow = <45% From: I. MacDonald SedimentPAH PAHRatio Ratio Sediment Post-/Pre-Blowout Post-/Pre-Blowout July July

16 Major Sediment Discoveries Abrupt changes in the sedimentary depositional system at 1-12m during the DwH blowout No Bioturbation in m Sediments PCB-6 DeSoto Canyon 7 nm ENE of DWH 1115 m Sediments DSH 8 (N-S 1 cm line) 2 nm NE of DWH 5 cm 5 cm Why no bioturbation in these oligotrophic environments??

17 Population Biology and Contamination of Gulper Sharks in the NGoM Centrophorus uyato = Little Gulper Pupping grounds? Dimorphic Size composition By sex Jacquelin Hipes M.S. student, C-IMAGE chrysene-like metabolites in bile of gulper sharks D. Grubbs, J. Gelsleichter DEEP-C 17

18 Potential Demographic Impacts, Recruitment & Growth Longline samples Increment Width (mm) Mean Otolith Increment Width Through Years Oil spill Increment Number Elizabeth Herdter, M.S., USF Year 18

19 SEAMAP Data, 1982-Present Neuston & Bongo Samples = What if? 19

20 Speckled trout Striped Codlet Silver anchovy Fringed flounder Deep-water bristle-mouth Mueller's pearlside Sand sea trout Bluefin tuna Large-head hairtail Scaled sardine Spanish mackerel Emily Chancellor M.S. Thesis USF 2

21 Scenario 1-27N and 85W Days 1-2 Days 21-4 Days 41-6 Days 61-8 CMS Simulations D. Lindo & C. Paris 21

22 Scenario 2-27N and 93.5W Days 1-2 Days 21-4 Days 41-6 Days 61-8 CMS Simulations D. Lindo & C. Paris 22

23 DHOS Effects on Reef Fishes Photo: David Doubilet 25 km DWH Gulf of Mexico Natural and artificial reefs sampled quarterly from fall 21 through Dec 214; GOMRI funding through 217 CTD casts, ROV transects, fish samples Will Patterson, DISL

24 Recruitment Issues ngom Reef Fishes? Gray Triggerfish Tomtate Gray Snapper Greater Amberjack Pre Yr Yr Yr Yr-4-34% -19% -64% -76% Pre Yr Yr-2 Yr-3 Yr-4-17% -6% % % n = 417 Fork length mm n = 664 Total length mm n = 319 Total length mm n = 887 Total length mm Pre Yr Yr Yr Yr-4-24% -75% -3% -1% Pre Yr Yr Yr Yr-4-54% -68% +151% +112% Declines in small, young fish apparent among several reef fish species Recruitment to reefs increased for some species by year-3 post-dwh Will Patterson, DISL

25 Estimated Red Snapper Recruitment Recruitment 1 6 age- fish West Estimated Projected 25 East SEDAR 214 Stock Assessment Year

26 Estimated & Projected RS Spawning Potential Ratio SSB/SSB unfished Estimated Projected West East Year

27 Application of Recent Baselines Hercules #265 Gas Well exploded July, 213 multi-center response by GoMRI-funded researchers (ECOGIG, CARTHE, DEEP-C, CWC, C-IMAGE) Long lining July August 213 Weatherbird II cruise Baselines from 211 and 212 available for fish 27 bile

28 Red Snapper bile Its burning! 28

29 Possibility of More Informative Baselines? Gulf-Wide Comparisons? 29

30 Gulf-Wide Fish Survey,

31 Final Thoughts Considerable new information on the impacts of oil spills on fish and their ecosystems has been generated by GoMRI and other supported research A return to baselines for a number of contamination biomarkers and ecosystem attributes (carbon & other elements), but not back to pre-spill conditions yet please encourage more baseline data! As with Exxon Valdez, it takes time to understand the population consequences, and at t +5 years we should be seeing them Results indicate the importance of controlled exposures of species and mesocosms to understand uptake and depuration dynamics GoMRI-supported research has resulted in fundamental research on new classes of indicators that will apply to future spill responses 31

32 Questions? Acknowledgements: BP/GoMRI (C-IMAGE I & II) NOAA/NMFS State of Louisiana Gulf Sea Grant Programs 32

33 Backup Slides 33

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35 Compared to GoM Baselines Compared to Global Studies Susan Snyder M.S. thesis 35

36 Total PAH (ppb) Carcinogenic PAH (ppb) Mesopelagic communities in the GoM: Mesopelagic fishes of the north-central Gulf of Mexico and preliminary Total PAHs trophodynamics descriptions Carcinogenic PAHs Temporal variability Temporal variability Mesopelagic (muscle) Steve W. Ross, A.M. Quattrini, A. Roa-Varón, and J.P. McClain University of North Carolina-Wilmington Center for Marine Science Isabel Romero, USF post-doc, Hollander Lab Benzo(a)pyrene, Benzo(a)anthracene, Benzo(b)fluoranthene, Benzo(k)fluoranthene, Chrysene, Indenol (1,2,3-cd)pyrene, Debenzo(a,h)anthracene

37 Mass Accumulation Rate MAR (g/cm 2 /yr) Major Sediment Discoveries 234 Th-Mass Accumulation Rate Define Pulse Sediment Event (MOSSFA) Deposition/Sedimentation DWH Blowout Event Pulse ( 234 Th) Site ID Water Depth M-4 4m P-6 143m D-8 114m D-1 152m 1.5 Decreasing MOSSFA Inputs Still Elevated wrt Pre-Event ( 234 Th) Recovery of Bioturbation at DSH-8 Increases Th Penetration Pre- Event 21 Pb MAR April Aug. July Dec. Feb. Sept. Aug Aug Th Inventories (input indicator) show continued reduction in at all sites At DSH-8 a return of sediment bioturbation is controlling increasing 234 Th MAR Aug.

38 Recent Trends in the Value of GoM Commercial Fisheries $ Value (x 1) All Species $ Value (x1) Shrimp (all species) Y $ Value (x 1) Oyster $ Value (x1) Red Snapper

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