Government Relations and Policy

Collected Fish and Wildlife Post-Gulf Spill

Species	Found alive but visibly oiled	Found alive, oil status pending	Released	Found dead, visibly oiled	Found dead, oil status pending necropsy results
Data as of 10/14/2010 Source: These are the consolidated numbers of collected fish and wildlife that have been reported to the Unified Area Command from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), incident area commands, rehabilitation centers and other authorized sources operating within the Deepwater Horizon/BP incident impact area.
Birds	2,079	0	1,246	2,263	14
Sea Turtles	456	0	397 released 14,676 hatchlings released 278 nests transported	18	272
Mammals	2	0	3	4	4

The harm inflicted by the BP Deepwater disaster in the Gulf of Mexico still defies calculation. Measured by what we already know—the 11 lives lost in the initial blow-out; the tens of millions of barrels of oil that gushed into the gulf and are still working their way inland, into the marshes and the estuaries of the Louisiana coast; the carcasses of dead sea turtles and dolphins and the sickening images of oil covered seabirds—it is already the worst environmental catastrophe of its kind in U.S. history. It will be a long time before the final tally can be taken. The damage will last for generations. At this point, however, we know we are dealing with what, in effect, are two disasters wrapped into one: A massive oil slick on the surface, driven by wind, waves and surface currents; and an underwater toxic cocktail of emulsified oil and dispersants, moving at the whim of sub-surface currents and eddies.

It will be a long time before the final tally can be taken. The damage will last for generations. At this point, however, we know we are dealing with what, in effect, are two disasters wrapped into one: A massive oil slick on the surface, driven by wind, waves and surface currents; and an underwater toxic cocktail of emulsified oil and dispersants, moving at the whim of sub-surface currents and eddies.

Regardless of the form it takes – heavily weathered sticky tar balls, partially weathered blobs of emulsified ooze, or fresh crude – oil is toxic and can lead to lethal or chronic impacts on marine wildlife. Seabirds and shorebirds such as egrets, herons and brown pelicans lose buoyancy and the ability to keep warm when their feathers come into contact with oil. They can also suffer liver damage, lesions and other potentially lethal complications from ingesting oil as they feed or attempt to clean their feathers. Blue whales, bottlenose dolphins and other marine mammals inhale toxic fumes every time they surface through the slick to breathe. An estimated 400 to 600 species are potentially at risk as the oil washes ashore, works its way into the marshes and oozes into the estuaries of the Louisiana coastline. These numbers may grow as new threats are uncovered.

Ecosystems

© United States Coast Guard

At most immediate risk is the north Gulf coast between Grand Isle, LA and Pensacola, Florida, where freshwater habitat gives way to first brackish and then saltwater marshes as the shore cedes way to the sea. To date, most of the damage has been concentrated on the outer barrier islands and the inland islands ringed by saltwater marshes. These low lying islands are home to thousands of shorebirds – terns, gulls, skimmers, herons and pelicans. Salt-tolerant sawgrass and smooth cordgrass provide nesting material and coverage for many of these species.

Driven by tides, wave action and storms, oil from the spill is finding its way past more than a million feet of boom deployed to keep it at bay and is moving inland, into the brackish and freshwater marshes. Oil both kills the marshland vegetation directly and poisons the complex mixture of algae, microbes, and detritus -- known as periphyton -- that coats the individual leaves. From there, it moves on up the food chain—from young shrimp and other animals that graze on marsh vegetation, up through birds that consume crustaceans and small bait fish, to carnivores such as tuna, brown pelicans and dolphins.

Beyond the marshes, at least two other Gulf ecosystems are also at risk—one from the surface oil and the other from the underwater plumes of oil mixed with dispersants.

One of the more interesting ecosystem types in the Gulf of Mexico are the mats of free-floating macro algae called sargassum. These floating islands of seaweed that give the Sargasso Sea its name are temporary homes to many economically and ecologically important species. Larval and juvenile yellowfin tuna, wahoo and marlin are suspended in the sargassum—as are juvenile sea turtles like the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley. At the whim of currents, these living islands will be destroyed as they pass through surface oil.

The Gulf’s vast oyster “reefs” – formed as the shells of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) are recolonized as a substrate for a new generation of oysters—are also imperiled by the spill. Oysters are filter feeders, straining organic and inorganic particles from the water column. In so doing, they improve water clarity, allowing light to penetrate below the water’s surface to nourish plants that provide habitat for crabs, fish and other species. Anchored to the bottom, however, oysters can’t avoid the undersea plumes of oil and dispersants headed their way.

Marine Turtles

There are five sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico: Kemp's ridley, leatherback, green, loggerhead, and hawksbill sea turtles.

• Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
• Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
• Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
• Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
• Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricate) are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Kemp's Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) Mexico
© Carlos Drews / WWF-Canon

These turtles already face many threats, including the loss or alteration of nesting habitats; running the gauntlet of hooks, lines and nets of fishing vessels in the high seas; and the effects of climate change.

Oil on the surface or in the water can have direct toxic effects on adult or juvenile marine turtles, including damage to airways, lungs and eyes; ulceration or of skin, mouth or nasal cavities; congestion, pneumonia and emphysema; damage to immune, digestive and reproductive systems; and contamination of nesting beaches.

For the Kemp’s ridley, the spill site is an important foraging and migrating area. Most of these critically endangered turtles nest on one 12-mile long beach at Rancho Nuevo in Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico. Even if the oil doesn’t spread to that exact spot, the turtles’ foraging grounds will have been compromised, which will affect their nesting beach success.

All five turtle species also risk contamination through the food they eat. The leatherback’s diet includes jellyfish and sea squirts. Green turtles are largely vegetarian, feeding on seagrass and algae. Hawksbills are omnivores and eat sponges, while loggerheads are partial to crabs and lobsters. Kemp’s ridleys are also omnivores whose food includes crabs, jellyfish and occasionally algae.

Careful long-term monitoring of all affected turtle populations must now be carried out to determine the long-term impact of the spill on species already struggling for survival.

Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

The Gulf of Mexico is the main spawning ground for the endangered western Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). Listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the western Atlantic bluefin has already seen its numbers decline by more than 82 percent in recent decades.

This greatly overfished tuna species is now returning for its limited spawning season from late April into early June in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, off the Mississippi River--exactly where the oil is headed.

The Deepwater disaster could not have come at a worse time for the Atlantic bluefin, coinciding almost exactly with its spawning season.  The oil spill was confined to a relatively small area at first but the dispersal of the oil as it gushes, together with strong ocean current flow, continues to enlarge the spilled affected area. Bluefin young inhabit the surface layers because of abundant food, and that is the area where much of the dispersant-tinged oil is concentrated.

For the western Atlantic bluefin tuna, this could turn into a Perfect Storm. With its population already severely depressed by overfishing and other threats, the oil spill could push this overexploited species to the brink and is another urgent reason to implement precautionary management of this species.

Cetaceans (whales and dolphins)

Several species of whale are at risk from this spill, including the sperm whale, blue whale, sei whale, and fin whale.  

• Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
• Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
• Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
• Sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Whales must surface frequently to breathe and,in a large oil spill  may be exposed to volatile chemicals during inhalation. This is bad news for the blue whale – one of the rarest and most endangered of the great whales – as well as for the endangered sei and fin whales, whose numbers have already been severely impacted worldwide by commercial whaling. Baleen.whales obtain food by extracting it from ocean water through special filters in their mouths. If those filters become clogged with oil, the whales can starve to death.

Dolphins in the Gulf include: Bottlenose, Clymen, Fraser’s, Risso’s, Rough-Toothed, Spinner, Spotted, and Striped dolphins. They can inhale oil or oil vapor when they surface to breathe, or ingest it by eating oil-contaminated fish. Inhalation in turn could damage their airways and cause lung ailments that could ultimately be fatal.

Seabirds and Shorebirds

The BP Deepwater blowout is predicted to reach the U.S. Louisiana coast at one of the most sensitive times for many migratory birds. Of particular concern are those seabirds which nest along the barrier islands, beaches, and shorelines along the Gulf coast, including: sandwich terns, royal terns, least terns, Forster's terns, Caspian terns, black skimmers, and brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis). 

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) swimming. South Florida, United States.
© WWF-US / Steve Morello

The spill is impacting a vital nesting area for thousands of brown pelicans, a species that was  removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List only last year (NOTE: Brown pelicans are found across Florida and the Gulf and Pacific coasts, as well as in the Caribbean and Latin America. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the brown pelican population in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and northward along the Atlantic Coast states from the list of endangered species in 1985. Last year, the remaining populations were taken off the ESA list).

Birds risk being oiled when they forage for fish in open water or near nesting sites. Bird colonies and nesting sites also are at risk if storm tides wash oil contaminated water over barrier islands or onto the beaches where the birds nest. The spill could also coat seabirds – which may ingest the oil as they try to clean their feathers to survive – and limit their flying ability. Among those at greatest risk, particularly when foraging in oiled water, are great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, mottled ducks, clapper rails, king rails, and common moorhens.

Commercially Important Species

As of November 15, more than 1,000 square miles—0.4% of all the Federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico—were closed to fishing because of the spill, which has dealt a devastating blow to the regional economy.

Spotted spiny lobster (Panulirus guttatus) – Florida.
© Steve Drogin/WWF-US

According to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, commercial fishing before the spill produced some 1.27 billion pounds of fish and shellfish, with a dockside value of nearly $660 million. More than 3.2 million people also participate in the gulf’s recreational fisheries.  In total, at least 27,000 jobs that depend directly on the fisheries could be affected.

Beyond the temporary closure of fishing areas, there is also concern that a reduction in eggs and larvae of commercially important fish species may occur, reducing future yields. In Louisiana, for instance, harvests of oysters, blue crab and finned fish have fallen by some 50 percent, while shrimp production is down by 75 percent.

Negative publicity from the spill is also harming Florida fishermen and coastal communities.  So far, Florida has been spared most of the direct impacts of the oil spill. But consumer fears that Florida fisheries may also be contaminated are inflicting significant losses on fishermen and coastal communities.

Four fisheries of specific concern in the Gulf of Mexico are the shrimp, red snapper, spiny lobster and stone crab fisheries.

The shrimp fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico are perhaps the most iconic. The three species of penaeid shrimp comprise more than 99 percent of the landings in the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery: Brown shrimp, white shrimp and pink shrimp.  The other shrimp species taken commercially is royal red shrimp.  This is a deep water shrimp fishery that is distinct from other shrimping in the Gulf of Mexico. The red snapper fishery is very important in the western and northern Gulf.  Red snapper are targeted by commercial, charter and other recreational fishermen. They occur in the western and northern Gulf mostly.  The spiny lobster fishery is a very high-profile short recreational fishery that occurs annually before the commercial fishery opens and is a big revenue generator for the Florida Keys.  Regarding stone crabs, there is a small, well-managed, high-value fishery in the Florida Keys. The fishery is unique in that only the claws are harvested, and the live crabs with one or both claws removed are returned to the water.

National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS) and Corals

Three of the 13 national marine sanctuaries could be impacted by the spill: Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary in Georgia, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. Notably, the US National Marine Sanctuary Program was created in large part to protect certain areas from the threat of drilling. The two national marine sanctuaries in the Gulf of Mexico both feature corals. The Flower Gardens NMS includes spectacular deep water corals and the Florida Keys NMS features more shallow water corals.

The Flower Garden Banks NMS is located close to the spill site. The deep water corals that are located here are especially slow-growing and likely to be especially vulnerable to oil impacts. The corals spawn every year, and usually fish and other creatures come to this area to feed on the spawn. The impacts of the oil spill on this spawning cycle is yet unknown.

Within the Florida Keys NMS, the corals are at serious risk from the spill. The Tortugas Ecological Reserve, the largest ‘no-take’ marine reserve in the US, which WWF helped to create, is located at the western edge of this sanctuary.

Species and Climate

While hundreds of species will be affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill, America’s oil dependency is a major contributor to climate change and ocean acidification, which impacts species in the U.S. and all over the world. Penguins, sea turtles, migratory birds, polar bears, giant pandas, American lobsters, American pikas, cold water fish such as salmon and trout, walruses and reef-building corals are just a few species facing significant impacts from a changing climate and a more acidic ocean.

The Gulf Coast oil spill demonstrates the visible damages of America’s oil addiction. A less discernible but equally dangerous impact of this addiction is climate change pollution and the ensuing influence on ecosystems and wildlife. To stop the perilous impacts of oil dependency, comprehensive climate and energy legislation must be passed.

Read news stories on the oil spill's impact on wildlife