Fate of oil hydrocarbons in fish and shrimp after major oil spills in the Arabian Gulf.

Abstract

Pollution of the marine environment with crude oil represents one of the most serious environmental problems that confront Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Oil pollution in the Arabian Gulf environment may affect the inhabitants through (1) human health hazard resulting from the consumption of contaminated sea food, (2) loss of food due to alteration of species productivity or elimination of some species, and (3) deterioration of recreation areas. Moreover, the problem of oil spill may be more severe in this part of the world. This is mainly because the source of drinking water in various Gulf states depends largely on sea water from which desalinated water is produced. Contamination of sea water with crude oil may adversely affect the quality of desalinated water and may badly damage desalination plants. During the last twelve years, the Arabian Gulf has been affected by two major oil spills. The first spill occurred on February 4, 1983 during the Iraq-Iran War, and the second major oil spill occured during the 1991 Gulf War. There is limited information about the level of oil hydrocarbons in edible fish, but two studies were carried out after both spills. This paper summarized the results of both studiesmore » carried out to assess the extent of contamination of various fish species of commercial value from the Arabian Gulf with oil hydrocarbons.« less