Response of Coastal Fishes to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster

F Joel Fodrie,Kenneth L Heck,Steven J Bograd

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021609

Abstract

The ecosystem-level impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster have been largely unpredictable due to the unique setting and magnitude of this spill. We used a five-year (2006–2010) data set within the oil-affected region to explore acute consequences for early-stage survival of fish species inhabiting seagrass nursery habitat. Although many of these species spawned during spring-summer, and produced larvae vulnerable to oil-polluted water, overall and species-by-species catch rates were high in 2010 after the spill (1,989±220 fishes km-towed−1 [μ ± 1SE]) relative to the previous four years (1,080±43 fishes km-towed−1). Also, several exploited species were characterized by notably higher juvenile catch rates during 2010 following large-scale fisheries closures in the northern Gulf, although overall statistical results for the effects of fishery closures on assemblage-wide CPUE data were ambiguous. We conclude that immediate, catastrophic losses of 2010 cohorts were largely avoided, and that no shifts in species composition occurred following the spill. The potential long-term impacts facing fishes as a result of chronic exposure and delayed, indirect effects now require attention.

Highlights

Prevailing models of ecological impacts resulting from oil pollution are being revised after the April 2010 release of,4.4 million barrels [1] of oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM)
Across our entire study region, CPUE increased from 1,080643 fishes kmtowed21 (m 6 1SE) during 2006–2009 to 1,9896220 fishes kmtowed21 in 2010
No significant, acute impacts on the strength of juvenile cohorts within seagrass habitats were detected following the Deepwater Horizon (DH) disaster. This was true for all species examined, bolstering our confidence in the conclusion that ecosystem-level injuries were not severe for this community of fishes

Summary

Introduction

Prevailing models of ecological impacts resulting from oil pollution are being revised after the April 2010 release of ,4.4 million barrels [1] of oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). In part, this is a legacy of the Exxon Valdez accident as a watershed environmental catastrophe, and the extensive research on acute and chronic impacts of the resulting inshore oil pollution [2]. Mid-water hydrocarbon plumes [3] have been observed with stimulation of petroleumdegrading bacteria [4] With this understood, we revisit some early concerns regarding impacts for nearshore fisheries [5]

Methods

Results

Conclusion