The importance of the planktonic ecosystem of the North Sea in the context of oil and gas development

Abstract

Planktonic organisms are the primary source of food for the top level of the marine food chain, the fish. Yet only part of the plankton is ingested by fish, the remainder sediments to the bottom to provide food for benthic organisms (which may in turn be grazed by demersal fish) and to contribute to a detrital sink. Although the relative proportions of the plankton entering each of these compartments is still a matter of debate, some indication of its importance as a resource can be gauged from the North Sea fishery that has yielded 2-3 Mt per year since the mid-1960s. Calculations for the North Sea of the annual production of phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish and benthos as energy equivalents are contrasted with the annual energy yields of oil and gas. Since 1948 the plankton of the North Sea has been monitored at a depth of 10 m by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey. Results for two large areas which encompass the Brent, Beryl and Forties oilfields are presented. Between 1948 and 1982 the plankton of these areas showed similar large changes in population structure in both phytoplankton and zooplankton with almost tenfold changes in levels of biomass during this 35 year period. The development of oil-related activities is discussed in relation to the plankton time-series with comment on possible causes of the changes which are believed to be the result of natural variability.