3. EFFECTS ON LIVING RESOURCES 



The potential detrimental impacts of offshore and onshore OCS de- 

 velopment on marine and coastal ecosystems are a major concern of the 

 New England states. Placement of offshore and onshore physical struc- 

 tures associated with OCS development will destroy sessile organisms 

 and disrupt habitats. However, the potential effects of oil pollution 

 are of far greater concern. Oil can kill marine life by poisoning, 

 coating, and asphyxiation. Indirect mortality can result from de- 

 struction of food sources or habitat, reduced resistance to infection, 

 and reproductive failures. It is also known that the more highly re- 

 fined oils are more toxic than the crude oils. 



A more complete discussion of the effects of petroleum hydrocar- 

 bons on marine organisms, populations, communities and ecosystems by 

 Hyland and Schneider (1976) is available in the Proceedings of a 

 Symposium on Sources, Effects and Sinks of Hydrocarbons in the Aquatic 

 Environment . 



The development of offshore oil may lead to oil spills and chronic 

 low level oil pollution. It will be difficult to assess the impacts 

 on the marine environment since too little is known about how oil moves, 



concentrates, degrades, cycles through the food web, and sublethally 

 affects organisms. Also, there is a lack of understanding of how components 

 of the offshore and nearshore ecosystems interact with one another and 

 respond to stress induced by humans. The Georges Bank Environmental 

 Studies Program presently underway will attempt to answer many of 

 these questions. Nonetheless, the threat of increased oil spills and 

 their potential adverse impacts is of major concern to New England 



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