Oil-Spill Answers: How Does the Spill Affect Aquatic Life in the Gulf?

Everyone’s talking about the devastating effect that the spill will have once it hits land. But how is the slick—and the stuff they use to get rid of it—affecting aquatic life in the sea?

Since the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico catapulted into the headlines more than a week ago, a lot of attention has been paid to the damage that could be done as the oil washes ashore at one of the most delicate coastal regions in the country. This is with good reason, since the coastal impact is sure to be severe, but it’s important to remember that the oil slick can also do substantial ecological damage at sea. Many fish use the Gulf as a nursery and spawning area, including some species that are already having a hard time maintaining their populations, says Jacqueline Savitz, senior campaign director at Oceana, an ocean-conservation group. Bluefin tuna, for example, use the Gulf as one of two possible spawning areas—so an unsuccessful spawn in the Gulf would thus be a big hit to that population. Besides fish, sea turtles (several species of which are already endangered), birds, and various marine mammals are threatened by the oil, which they can become coated in or ingest. The dispersants being used to combat the slick, which break down the oil into smaller, more easily degraded droplets, much the way detergent cuts grease on pots and pans, may also be toxic to marine animals, but scientists say they’re an effective way to combat the oil, and that the risks of not using them are higher than the risks of using them. “The impact [at sea] is already occurring,” Savitz says, although it’s much less visible than shore impacts would be, since it’s hard for us to gauge exactly what’s going on underwater. Nevertheless, oil does get diluted and degraded at sea much more quickly than on land as a result of the huge volume of water and the wave action. So the situation will undoubtedly become far worse as the oil spill hits shore.