Current and Potential Impacts of the Gulf Oil Spill

Megan Westmeyer

Timeline• Deepwater Horizon

> floating rig > exploratory drilling 50 miles southeast of Venice> water nearly 1 mile deep > only 40-50 rigs in Gulf drilling this deep

• April 20, 2010 – explosion – methane gas

• April 22, 2010 – rig topples, oil begins to leak from well in sea floor> Blow-out preventer failed> Three leaks, one has been sealed

Current situation• Leaking ~210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels)

per day> Exxon Valdez in 1989 was 11 million gallons

• Attempted to place large “funnel” over leak on Saturday 5/8 > Gas-water crystals clogged

• Mitigation: booms, skimming, burning, dispersants (bad weather disrupts)

• Oil started showing up on shore over the weekend

What next for BP?

• Drilling relief well (2-3 months)

• Retry box, but higher in water column

• Other kind of box with heat source to prevent crystallization

• Pump mud and concrete into blowout preventer (2-3 weeks)

• Cut the pipe, connect larger pipe – could make it worse, could contain completely

Is Gulf seafood safe to eat?

• If it makes it to market, yes

• Affected portions of Gulf closed to harvest

• Federal and state agencies testing seafood in Gulf and on land (established benchmarks first)

• Scientists testing Gulf water and sediments

Fishery Closures

• From http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/

• Current Federal Closure

• Office of Response and Restoration – daily updates and projections> http://response.restoration.noaa.gov

• Also see Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at www.wlf.louisiana.gov for state water closures and oyster closures

Affected seafood products

• Gulf seafood production

• Oysters

• Shrimp

• Crab

• Snapper and grouper

Oysters

• Immobile, filter feeders

• 67% of U.S. oysters

• LA dominates; substantial production in TX, MS, wFL

• Affected portions of LA and MS produce >50% of U.S. oysters

• MS scheduled to close on April 30; re-open in fall

Shrimp• Spring and summer - adult shrimp leave the

salt marshes and move offshore to spawn

• Affect adults and offspring (next year’s crop)

• Gulf of Mexico produces about 73% of the U.S. harvested shrimp> Dominated by LA, TX close second, AL, MS, and

wFL smaller but substantial amounts

• Closed areas are about 40-45% of Gulf production or about 30% of national production

Crab

• Crab harvest in near shore waters - harvest typically peaking during the summer and spawning peaking during the fall

• Most of Gulf harvest in LA – 26% of U.S. harvest

Snapper and grouper

• More likely to be affected in the long-term

• Spawning throughout the late spring and summer

• Larvae and juveniles inhabit shallower and inshore waters – vulnerable to chemicals

• Dispersants may make oil more available to adults

Dispersants

• Separates the oil into smaller droplets> Dispersed throughout the water column> Prevent surface slick – affects beaches, marshes,

animals – immediate damage

• Does not destroy or eliminate oil – dilutes and alters until natural degradation

• Where does it go? – complex currents, water vs sediment

• What does it do? – food chain, toxicity

Sea Grant Info Hub

• www.gulfseagrant.org > Developments > Recovery > Economic Value > Human Health > Oil and Wildlife > Maps and Map Services > Background Information

Websites

• NOAA Fishery Closures http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/

• NOAA oil spill daily updates and predictions http://response.restoration.noaa.gov

• Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries closures www.wlf.louisiana.gov

• Gulf Sea Grant information hub www.gulfseagrant.org

• For more info contact: Megan Westmeyer at mwestmeyer@scaquarium.org