The Deepwater Horizon oil spill s impact: Extending science for collaborative management. Christine Hale Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program

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1 The Deepwater Horizon oil spill s impact: Extending science for collaborative management Christine Hale Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program GCFI 2016

2 Deepwater Horizon oil spill April 20, people killed Oil flowed for 87 days 200 million gallons oil 1.84 million gallons dispersant Source: Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA)

3 Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative $500 million, 10-year investment Goal - Improve society s ability to understand, respond to, and mitigate the effects of petroleum pollution and related stressors Focus areas: 1. How do oil and dispersants move around the environment? 2. How do oil and dispersants break down over time? 3. How do oil and dispersants impact the environment? 4. How can technology be improved? 5. How do oil spills impact people? Learn more at gulfresearchinitiative.org Photos: GoMRI

4 What is Sea Grant? Mission: Enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources in order to create a sustainable economy and environment University-based programs (33) Partially funded by NOAA and states Three areas of emphasis Research Education Extension Service-oriented Trusted/non-advocacy honest brokers 50 years of serving the nation s coasts

5 Oil Spill Science Outreach Team & Chris Hale Monica Wilson Emily Maung-Douglass Larissa Graham Tara Skelton Steve Sempier

6 Our Target Audiences Fishing industry, commercial Fishing industry, for-hire Fishing industry, recreational Policy makers Emergency responders/managers Environmental non-profit staff Natural resource managers Public health officials Tourism industry GoMRI outreach specialists University/college researchers Oil & gas industry consultants Booms made out of pom-poms are set to protect the sandy beach area. Credit: NOAA. A BP decontamination facility in the Pascagoula River, MS. Credit: NOAA. Researchers discuss field observations with NOAA's Natural Resources Damage Assessment. Credit: NOAA.

7 Oil Spill Science Outreach products Sharing peer-reviewed, published science Science outreach publications Focused on science topics identified by our audiences Fisheries management Seafood testing Series about dispersants Frequently asked questions Oil on our beaches Fish health Impacts on fisheries

8 Oil Spill Science Outreach products Sharing peer-reviewed, published science Science seminars & input sessions Presentations by experts Continue to identify needs of audiences

9 Ecosystem Impacts

10 Understanding fisheries impacts from oil spills: 3 level approach How do oil spills impact many different kinds of living things in an area or habitat? How do oil spills impact a group of living things of the same species? How do oil spills impact individuals?

11 Individual fish impacts FISH are good at breaking down the bad stuff in oil! Oil metabolizing gene (CYP1A) triggers production of proteins that will breakdown PAHs in fish Animals without CYP1A bioaccumulate CYP1A is a biomarker for oil exposure in fish BUT chemicals in oil can cause: Decreased swimming speed Decreased size Deformities Sensitivity and impact varies by fish life stage/age, & concentration of oil Mager et al. 2014; Incardona et al. 2014; Dubansky et al A. Bullard B. Dubansky

12 Individual fish impacts Did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cause skin lesions on fish? There was an increase in skin lesions on offshore marine fish There was an increase in PAHs in locations with lesioned fish during the same time period The PAHs found in the lesioned fish were similar to the PAHs in DWH oil samples, but it is not 100% certain that DWH oil caused the lesions Murawski et al. 2014

13 Population impacts van der Ham & der Mutsert 2014

14 Community Impacts Pre-spill normal diet : shrimp, crabs, squid but also a 15 20% zooplankton Post-spill diet shift attributed to DWH more fish & crustaceans and less zooplankton Tarnecki & Patterson 2015

15 Community Impacts Deep sea fish are exposed to PAHs in different ways Fish habitat and fish behavior play a key role in exposure Oiled sediments exposed golden tilefish to higher levels of PAH for a few years after the oil spill Episodic exposure; source of PAH not determined (art by Able, Grimes & Jones) Snyder et al. 2015

16 Oil spill planning & management Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary 2016 workshop

17 Spill map (Source: Center of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution) Oil spill planning & management Potential oil producing areas in the North Cuban Basin. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

18 Upcoming opportunities Tomorrow! Join us at 2 pm for our Sea Grant input session to continue the conversation! We want your feedback! GOMOSES conference in February 2017 University of Puerto Rico workshop 2017 Stay tuned!

19 Thank you!

20 Science and Information Needs for Gulf and Caribbean Regional Stakeholders Christine Hale Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program GCFI 2016

21 We want your input! What oil spill-related information needs do you or your communities have? Have you or your communities been affected by an oil spill? How? Are you involved in oil spill response, management, policy, or research? How do you envision collaborating across the region?