Gulf Oil Spill Endangers Marine Life and Habitats
National Geographic: Experts say Oil May Gush for Years
Second in a series: Oceans scientist Doug Rader discusses crisis in
the Gulf
Part 2 in the Environmental Defense Funds Q&A series on the Gulf Oil Spill. Read
Part 1
&
Part 3 .
As of this writing, the largest visible mass of oil from the
catastrophic failure of the Deepwater Horizon continues to lurk off
the coast of Louisiana, with just initial interactions with outlying
islands and the most offshore elements of the Mississippi Delta.
Regardless of when or whether the visible slick makes landfall, the
effects on creatures that live on and under the Gulf’s surface are
already at potentially catastrophic levels.
To make sense of the current situation we spoke to EDF’s Chief Ocean
Scientist Doug Rader, a Ph.D. coastal ecologist. Rader has been based in the Southeast since 1988, and has been a key leader in marine ecosystem restoration efforts in the region.
What’s happening right now on the water?
Several things are happening. Creatures caught directly in the spill
zone, especially those that live on or near the surface of the water,
are directly affected. Most visible are the seabirds, sea turtles,
and – potentially – the marine mammals. Less visible, but equally
concerning, are the countless millions of tiny, planktonic organisms
being killed, including larvae of economically important species like
fish, shrimp and crabs.
Marine birds – including pelagic birds like petrels and shearwaters,
which spend their whole lives at sea -- are at special risk
encountering the spill, as they must preen their feathers to maintain
the waterproofing needed to stay warm and to survive on the open
water. Preening by itself can lead to ingestion of fatal quantities
of oil.
Sea turtles face multiple threats, with adults being directly
poisoned (including from eating oiled jellyfish or inhaling toxic
fumes, and from effects of possible oiling of nesting beaches. We’re
especially concerned about the Kemp’s Ridley turtle, whose recent
comeback form the brink of extinction has come at great effort and
expense. While faster-moving marine mammals like dolphins may be able to avoid the spill zone, slower creatures, such as the endangered
manatee, may not be able to move quickly enough.
What about beneath the surface?
In addition to impacts on near-surface animals, potentially serious
impacts – rarely discussed in the press – are taking place deep under
the surface. For instance, the spill zone sits on top of a unique and
biologically rich ancient deepwater coral reef, called Viosca Knoll.
The species diversity of this ecosystem, located far beneath the
reach of the sun’s rays, is extraordinary. As the oil breaks up or
attaches itself to small bits of ocean detritus, a toxic rain falls
from the surface down to the reefs below. The impact on these reefs
is an open question right now.
The Gulf down-current from the spill area also contains probably the
most important pupping grounds in the Western hemisphere for many
shark species. Shark numbers have already declined drastically in
recent years, and it’s unclear how this additional pressure might
affect them. This threat is coming just as we are beginning to learn
how important top predators like sharks are for maintaining the
health and resilience of many marine ecosystems.
What about economic impacts?
Also potentially severe. The Gulf produces something like one billion
pounds of seafood each year and generates $10 billion in income. Many of the fishing communities affected by the spill have yet to fully
recover from Katrina, and this is just one more major potential
economic blow.
One of the most tragic ironies right now is that many of these
fishermen had been working with EDF to restore depleted fisheries
species like red snapper through a program called Catch Shares. Gulf
fisheries were well on their way to producing a sustainable catch of
important seafood species, and serving as a model for other
over-fished regions worldwide. Unless actions to cap the leaks are
successful soon, this tragedy could become a serious set-back.
Many charter fishermen are feeling impacts now from worried tourists
and clients who are cancelling fishing trips even in areas that are
not affected.
Also, as we have seen in the past, even seafood that is free of
contamination – as the vast majority of Gulf seafood remains – might
meet resistance from consumers who might worry about the safety of
Gulf shrimp, crabs and other seafood. So the short-term prospects for
these fishing communities are grim, unless something is done soon to shut down the leaks.
What’s going to happen next?
That depends on winds and currents and when the oil “spigot” finally
gets shut off. Right now, the Gulf Loop Current seems to be moving
northward toward the spill site. If the spill continues, and the
slick is picked up by that current, the mortality and harm could
spread far beyond the spill site. Oil could inundate down-current sea
grass meadows, beaches and marshes that serve as nurseries for
countless species of economically and ecologically important sea
animals.
In that extreme case, it’s not inconceivable that toxic
concentrations of oil could spread to the shallow coral reefs of
South Florida, and even up the Atlantic seaboard as far as North
Carolina.
Those currents also serve as the “highway” by which juvenile fish and
larvae move from their spawning grounds and nurseries along the Gulf
coats to their “home” environments. This includes reef species like
groupers, prey species like menhaden, and open ocean fish like
bluefin tuna. If this highway becomes polluted with oil, we could
literally lose an entire generation of fish.
And obviously, fishing bans and other economic impacts will migrate
with the spill.
Finally, in case this scenario is not depressing enough, these
effects will also be felt far into the future. The oil doesn’t go
away when the slick breaks up. It will circulate in the ocean
currents, settle into the sea floor and soak into marshlands. Oil
from the Deepwater Horizon will continue to persist in the Gulf for
many years to come.
So does that means there’s nothing we can do?
There’s lots that can – and must – be done that would make a huge
difference – in addition to spending whatever needs to be spent to
shut down the oil flows, ASAP.
First, we need to make sure fishing communities get the support they
will need to survive the potentially catastrophic loss of fishing
income. If the country wants the enormous benefits of Gulf seafood,
we’re going to have to pay to preserve the infrastructure that
sustains fishing livelihoods and fishing communities. We can also
help support fishing communities by eating Gulf seafood and going
fishing in the Gulf, as long as federal and state authorities
determine it is safe.
Second, more resources are needed to protect the most valuable and
vulnerable marine and coastal resources, and to concentrate recovery
and rehabilitation efforts where they are most needed.
In the medium term, we need to look harder at amplifying factors that
make these critical ecosystems more resilient, better able to
withstand future spills. With thousands of wells and 35,000 miles of
oil pipelines in the Gulf, there will be other spills. So we need to
look at factors that contribute to ecosystem resilience. Wetland
restoration is an obvious example. A less obvious example is
restoration of shark populations, which build ecosystem resilience.
We need to make sure that that proper controls and resources are in
place to minimize the risk of future spills from the existing oil and
gas production system in the Gulf, and to enhance performance should
another accident occur. That will likely require major retrofitting
of aging petroleum infrastructure.
And there clearly are lessons to be learned – and a need to take the
time to learn those lessons – as America considers where and how to
expand reliance on offshore drilling to meet the nation’s energy
needs.
Long-term, of course, we need to move beyond the petroleum- dependent economy that leads us to take these risks in some of the most biologically rich and economically important ecosystems in the world. That’s why the clean energy legislation now pending in Congress is one key to the Gulf’s future.- Doug Rader Ph.D.
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