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Oil Spill Effect on Marine Life and Wildlife

In the case of marine oil spill, the first living receptors who may come in contact with the oil spill are the marine life, including the various fish species. Apart from affecting the coastal fishing and fisheries, exposure to oil spills may have negative health effects on marine life.

The negative effects on marine life & fish relate to the accumulation of persistent and bioaccumulative components of oil in the tissue and bodies of marine life & fish with potential to induce:

  • a variety of health and reproductive problems
  • as well as mass mortality events within fish & marine life in general

The problem is exacerbated for the higher organisms on the food chain (who consumes other smaller organisms) and may seriously affect birds and marine mammals, as well as bigger fish. This is due to the gradual and additive accumulation of increased concentrations of oil pollutants through combined exposure to polluted environment (i.e., polluted water) and polluted food (with higher pollutant concentrations than in ambient environment as explained before!). The unavailability of food is another issue when mass mortality events occur.

Apart from direct contact and accumulation of oil spill pollutants, oxygen depletion may also occur due to the formation of oil slick at the surface of water. This may especially affect species of fish and marine life living in shallower waters. As for the marine life from deeper water, may also be affected by deep oil spills such as the one due to well leaks at very high depth in the Gulf of Mexico (in conjunction with BP offshore drilling activities).

Oil Spill Effects on Animals & Wildlife

As explained in the case of marine life & fish, the higher animals/wildlife in the chain food, namely those who consume contaminated marine life, may be of even higher risk of poisoning or developing negative effects due to exposure to higher pollutant concentrations than in the surrounding environment.

Basically, any bird, mammal, amphibian, reptile and/or other wildlife from polluted areas may develop negative health effects due to:

  • Direct contact with oil spill pollution which, similar as in the case of humans, may enter animal bodies through ingestion, inhalation, skin absorption and/or injection (through cuts in the skin for example). Potential deterioration of thermal insulation and damage to behavior and reproductive system are some specific examples of negative effects due to oil spill pollution exposure
  • Indirect exposure through consumption of smaller organisms which were exposed to oil spill pollution themselves
  • Lack of usual food – when mass mortality events occur, affecting large amounts of fish and exposed marine life (for example in the case of a severe marine oil spill). This may have serious long-term ecological effects ending up with the complete eradication of some species.

If you have reasons to suspect you have been or are affected by oil spill pollution, please contact us.