Cooper suggested that, under conditions of normal drilling operations, 

 there would be no measurable impacts. He then suggested that, in a "worst 

 case" scenario (a major oil spill), there may still be only short-lived 

 impacts. Since most commercially valuable species in the canyons are mobile 

 and fast and grow to maturity at a young age,* most populations would be 

 capable of bouncing back from even a major oil spill. 



Neff stated during this discussion that the major impact would be to 

 surface waters, possibly eggs and larvae of fish, and that may include cod, 

 haddock, and others. Neff further stated that he did not know of a mechanism 

 to transport enough oil to the bottom to cause any serious long-term impacts. 

 For example, with cod fish, the eggs are on the bottom, they rise to the 

 surface, and then gradually sink back down again. So there is a period where 

 they are in the top meter or two. The fishing modelers hypothesize that the 

 period at the surface is the only opportunity for serious impact. Teal 

 suggested that a major oil spill was not the only "worst case" scenario. For 

 example, if one could imagine an event that transported a large amount of 

 long-lasting, toxic materials to the bottom in a localized area such as a 

 pueblo village, that might have a much grater effect than oil spilled on the 

 surface, little of which would even reach the bottom near canyons. 



IMPACTS ON SESSILE ORGANISMS 



Hecker stated that since commercial species are mobile and have rapid 

 growth, one would expect primarily short-term effects. But with sessile 

 species, effects are more likely to be long term. In a worst-case scenario, 

 where one would wipe out a local population, there would be concern about the 

 sessile organisms. If you wipe out a population in one canyon, have you wiped 

 out the entire "stock" population of that species, or is there substantial 

 transport and recruitment between canyons? She said that her instincts are 

 that the effects will be longer term, because the sessile organisms can't 



'See also reviewer comment in Appendix A. 



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