Pelagic, reef, and demersal fishes and macrocrustaceans

Abstract

From the Abstract: “Environmental and ecosystem alterations associated with the development and release of contaminants from an active gas and oil field were found to have been primarily related to the presence of the structures per se (- 16,000 m2 hard substrate) and the discharge of produced water (1,000 to 1,400 bbl/day). The presence of the structures contributed to turbulent mixing, and allowed for the development of a rich and diverse biofouling community. The resulting artificial reefs were found to serve as points of aggregation for nektonic and demersal reef fishes as well as species which prey upon them--particularly man.

The produced waters contained low levels of contaminants and were toxic at varying degrees to all organisms tested. Due to turbulent mixing and the resulting rapid diffusion, the detrimental direct effects of the produced water on the biota were limited to within a few meters of the outfall (typically < 1 m3 of water at the point of outfall contained produced water at the 96-h LC50 level for the most sensitive animal tested). Indirect effects were not determined with certainty, but were indicated to have been probably minimal or non-existent. Measurable uptake of contaminants was apparently restricted to those species in the biofouling food chain, and there was no evidence of marked contaminant accumulation through food chain transfers. The effects of the recreational fisheries associated with petroleum platforms in the Gulf on the stocks of red snapper appear to represent a major area of concern. The recreational fishery is primarily accountable for the current, overfished state of red snapper stocks, and most of the sportfishing effort offshore Texas (and probably other areas) isexpended at petroleum platforms.”