EFFECTS OF OIL ON MARINE ECOSYSTEMS: 

 A REVIEW FOR ADMINISTRATORS AND POLICY MAKERS 



Dale R. Evans^ and Stanley D. Rice^ 



ABSTRACT 



A broad selection of recent literature on the effects of oil on marine ecosystems is reviewed. The focus is on 

 studies on crude oil, and the results are discussed with the purpose of providing a summary of findings that 

 will be a useful reference for administrators and policy makers involved in decisions concerning petroleum 

 developments and related activities. The characteristics of crude oil and factors modifying its impact on the 

 marine environment are discussed. Most research on the toxicity of oil has dealt with acute effects and data 

 on long-term impacts at the community level are inconclusive. It is concluded that chronic low-level 

 pollution is potentially more damaging to ecosystems than isolated catastrophic spills. Decision makers are 

 forced to rely on interpretative judgments rather than conclusive data. 



Much of the material in this report was gathered 

 as background material for use in preparing the 

 marine section of the final environmental impact 

 statement on the proposed trans-Alaska pipeline 

 system (U.S. Department of the Interior, 1972). 

 Some of the statements are essentially unchanged 

 from the way they were presented in the appendix 

 to volume IV of the impact statement. The impact 

 statement made it clear that not enough data are 

 available to analyze conclusively all of the poten- 

 tial environmental impacts of operation of the 

 pipeline marine terminal facilities at Port Valdez, 

 Alaska, and the transshipment of crude oil by 

 tankers to west coast ports. A conclusion that can 

 be drawn, however, and a message of the impact 

 statement, is that oil poses a significant hazard to 

 marine ecosystems, and a good deal of intensive 

 research is necessary if these hazards are to be 

 quantified and fully understood. 



Research on oil pollution published since the 

 impact statement on the pipeline was issued re- 

 veals that scant progress has been made, particu- 

 larly with regard to the effects of chronic low-level 

 oil pollution. Current and projected demands for 

 energy in the United States are prompting accel- 

 erated development of offshore petroleum re- 

 serves, expanded oil tanker traffic, and proposals 

 for construction of deepwater port facilities to 

 handle the increasing number of supertankers. 

 These developments will not wait for conclusive 



'Alaska Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 

 Juneau, AK 99801. 



^Auke Bay Fisheries Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries 

 Service, NOAA, Auke Bay, AK 99821. 



answers to questions on oil pollution. Recognizing 

 this, we feel it is important that public adminis- 

 trators and policy makers be made aware of the 

 inferences and trends evident in the research 

 findings to date. These findings present a persua- 

 sive case that decisions regarding the handling of 

 crude oil and petroleum products should be con- 

 servative and in favor of protecting the natural 

 environment. While this report is by no means a 

 complete review of the literature, it is sufficient to 

 illustrate the potential danger of oil pollution to 

 marine ecosystems and provide some guidance for 

 policy decisions. 



History is replete with examples of man's 

 scientific and technological advances carrying 

 him into situations he did not fully comprehend 

 and with consequences he could not evaluate. 

 Bella ( 1970) noted that "our ability to change this 

 world is going to increase faster than our ability to 

 predict what that change is going to be." He con- 

 cludes that our management procedures must rec- 

 ognize the degree of ignorance we have about this 

 world in which we live. 



Pollution of the ocean by oil is a worldwide prob- 

 lem of growing concern to many nations. Spills 

 like the Torrey Canyon, ih.e Arrow, the Santa Bar- 

 bara Channel blowout, and other spectacular in- 

 cidents have helped stimulate international or- 

 ganizations of governments and industry to react 

 to the problem. Viewed pragmatically, interna- 

 tional response has been at least as adequate as 

 domestic programs. Predicting the impact of an oil 

 spill on the environment requires an understand- 

 ing of the complex interactions involved. What 



Manuscript accepted November 1973. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 72, NO. 3. 1974. 



625 



