Environmental Impact of Crude Oil Spills

Abstract

Although there is a worldwide decrease of oil entering the sea from human activities, oil spills continue to be one of the major threat to the marine environment. Within all possible scenarios of oil spills, the most common and potentially more hazardous of them involves influx of oil onto the shore, its accumulation in sediments and subsequent long-term ecological disturbances both in the coastal zone and on the shore. Such situations should usually be treated as chronic stresses. Sea birds and mammals are among the most vulnerable components of marine ecosystems in relation to oil pollution. Until recently, there has been no direct evidence of any detectable (unreversible) impact of oil spills on the biomass and stock of commercial species at the population level.