Maine to Cape Hatteras for the past 15 years to assess and predict changes in 

 abundance of the principal fish stocks in the area. Major changes before the 

 Argo Mevahant spill have been the result of the interaction between intensive 

 fishing and natural environmental fluctuations, which had reduced the fish 

 biomass substantially from former abundance levels in the 1950 's and early 

 1960's. 



To date no comprehensive study has been carried out on the effects of 

 oil on the productivity of fish populations on the northeast Continental 

 Shelf. In fact, most studies concerning the effects of oil on fish and 

 shellfish have been concerned with the onshore or nearshore impacts on lit- 

 toral organisms. Definitive results on the effects on populations of fish 

 are rare. Laboratory studies have shown that crude oil can damage embryos 

 (Kilhnhold 1969, 1974). Also, the zooplankton food of fish larvae have been 

 found to suffer high mortalities from exposures to crude oil in laboratory 

 experiments (Mirnov, 1969a, b) . In contrast, recent observations from col- 

 lections made at sea have indicated that zooplankton particularly copepods, 

 can ingest particles of oil and pass them through the gut without any appar- 

 ent effects. Some species of adult fish have been observed to avoid areas 

 contaminated with oil. However, the more sensitive egg and larval stages are 

 carried by the tides and currents and lack the ability to avoid oil spill 

 areas. Bivalve shellfish (quahogs, scallops, mussels) are sedentary and have 

 only limited capability to remove large amounts of petroleum hydrocarbons. 

 They have been found to suffer significant mortalities in areas contaminated 

 with oil (Jeffries and Johnson, 1975) . Proper assessment of the impact of a 

 major spill on the Continental Shelf requires the combined effort of exten- 

 sive sea sampling and laboratory support studies. The following investiga- 

 tions are among the first attempts to determine how oil spilled on the 

 Continental Shelf affects the productivity of fishery resources. Only by 

 conducting integrated studies concerning physiological, genetic, and patho- 

 logical effects on metabolism and reproduction through surveys of changes in 

 the abundances of populations can we begin to define the real extent of 

 damage caused by the oil. 



On December 17, after meeting of scientists of Woods Hole had discussed 

 plans for research in the event of the breakup of the Avgo Mev chant , the 

 Detawccpe II was contacted and informed of the possibility that the ship might 

 be diverted to the scene of the spill to conduct research. On December 20, 

 the Delaware II terminated its trawl survey operations, steamed to Woods 

 Hole, Massachusetts, and prepared for a short cruise to survey the fish 

 stocks, ichthyoplankton, and benthic organisms around the oil spill. The 

 ship arrived on December 21 and a group of NMFS scientists from Woods Hole 

 and Narragansett, Rhode Island, under the direction of Henry Jensen, prepared 

 to sail as soon as possible. The cruise plan was to sample near the edge of 

 the oil slick without contaminating the sampling gear or the ship, and to 

 obtain as many samples of water, fish, benthic organisms, and plankton as 

 time would permit. The ship sailed on the afternoon of December 22, began 

 fishing that night, and, after occupying 11 stations (Figure 4-1), returned 

 to Sandy Hook on December 24. 



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