Saving Seafood

Deepwater species in the Gulf of Mexico declined drastically after Deepwater Horizon oil spill

October 23, 2026 — Deepwater fish, shellfish, and squid populations in the Gulf of Mexico dropped significantly following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and have yet to recover 16 years later, according to a new study.

“Our findings are particularly concerning because these are species that are abundant, widespread, and historically might not have been considered vulnerable,” Florida International University (FIU) marine researcher Pedro Peres said in a release. “What we are seeing suggests that even species that appear abundant can experience substantial changes that may go unnoticed without monitoring.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Decade of Data Shows Rapid Decline in Pelagic Fish and Invertebrates in Deep Gulf

October 21, 2026 — Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists across the region jumped into action to monitor its impacts. One particular effort focused on pelagic nekton—the small critters like fish, shrimp, and cephalopods that swim freely in the ocean and serve as the base of pelagic food webs. The Deep-Pelagic Nekton Dynamics of the Gulf (DEEPEND) Consortium led this project to quantify long-term trends in the offshore fauna of the Gulf. While observed declines in these critical prey groups can’t be tied directly to the spill, scientists have not identified another likely explanation.

Tracking the Shift: A Decade of Deepwater Science

The first pelagic nekton sampling effort took place as soon as possible following the spill, with sampling occurring almost continuously for 9 months in 2011. These data represent the benchmark of pelagic nekton to which past and future numbers can be compared. The numbers were also similar to data collected during the 1980s and 1990s.

The next sampling involved six efforts across four consecutive years (2015–2018), followed by three more in 2021–2023. Overall, these efforts comprise more than a decade of abundance and composition data for pelagic nekton in the Gulf of America.

During each of these events, the project team sampled discrete depths from 0 to 1,500 meters in the Gulf using a 10-square-meter Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System, or MOCNESS, with 3 millimeter mesh. Once net tows were complete, the science teams identified and counted each of the animals collected in each sample.

In addition to traditional net-sampling methods, the team also used echosounders to measure acoustic backscatter in the water column during the day and at night. This allowed them to independently estimate relative abundance of animals in fine spatial detail. Scientists also collected tissue samples from three dominant lanternfish species to monitor changes in genetic diversity.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

MASSACHUSETTS: Oil and water: Inside the ‘mystery’ oil spills casting a sheen on New Bedford Harbor

March 30, 2026 —  Anyone walking down New Bedford’s Pier 3 can see the state of the commercial scalloping fleet, rusty trawlers and all. Less obvious are the subtle sheens of “mystery” oil spills leaking into the harbor’s waters.

Trace amounts of diesel and other fossil fuels — especially in older boats — can leak into the vessel’s bilge water and spill into the ocean, where their origins are nearly impossible to trace. These spills can impact water quality and get stuck in the harbor sediment.

At one point, Buzzards Bay Coalition estimated that these so-called “mystery” spills occur in the harbor once every eight days. Coalition President Mark Rasmussen believes that number is likely higher.

“Those are just the spills that are reported,” Rasmussen said. “It’s considered commonplace in a lot of spots of the harbor here to see oil in a way that just doesn’t happen in other places.”

These spills average between 5 and 20 gallons of oil per spill, Rasmussen added.

Although harbor workers and local officials are required by law to report oil spills or visible sheens to the U.S. Coast Guard, these smaller spills often go undetected, Rasmussen said, either dispersing on their own or sinking into the sediment on the harbor floor.

These spills are particularly common among the aging scallop fleet. Many scallop boats are between 30 and 50 years old, making it one of the oldest fleets in the U.S., behind Pacific salmon trolling boats.

The problem is worse in New Bedford than in other ports, in part because it doesn’t have a facility to pump oily bilge out of boats.

The oil pollution also brings up long-term questions: how can New Bedford’s fishing fleet adapt to use less diesel fuel? And someday, could the fishing fleet even go electric?

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Oil spill off St. George Island after fishing vessel ran aground

January 9, 2026 — A fishing vessel carrying 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel ran aground on St. George Island Monday, causing a spill, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

The vessel concerned is the fishing vessel Arctic Sea, the DEC says. Alongside the diesel fuel, the ship was also carrying 2,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid.

Additionally, about 11,000 lbs of tanner crab were aboard. As of 2:30 p.m. Thursday, it is unknown how much fluid has spilled.

Read the full article at Alaskas News Source

ALASKA: Diesel spill near Kodiak-area hatchery disrupts salmon fishery

September 4, 2025 — State officials say a grounded fishing vessel leaking diesel from a beach near Kodiak has prompted a commercial fishing closure as well as precautions at a salmon hatchery.

The Sea Ern ran hard aground in Izhut Bay off Afognak Island with a 12-foot gash in its bow, damaging two fuel tanks, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

The U.S. Coast Guard said watchstanders received a distress call on VHF radio at approximately 6:30 a.m. Monday reporting the vessel hit a rock and was taking on water. There were three people aboard.

The good Samaritan vessel MS Kennedy responded to the distress call and recovered all three people from the vessel, the Coast Guard said. No injuries were reported.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

Suit: Agencies fail to protect marine species from oil

January 27, 2022 — A conservation group says in a lawsuit that the U.S. government failed to protect endangered whales and other animals by underestimating the potential for an oil spill like a recent crude pipeline leak off California’s coast.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday saying Interior Department agencies and the National Marine Fisheries Service didn’t ensure offshore oil and gas production wouldn’t jeopardize endangered and threatened species in accordance with U.S. law.

The lawsuit says the Service found in a 2017 analysis that oil and gas production wouldn’t likely have an adverse effect on threatened marine life off California’s coast, there was a low likelihood of an offshore oil spill and if one occurred, it would likely involve no more than 8,400 gallons (31,800 liters). The suit asks the court to vacate the analysis and bar new oil activity unless government agencies comply with the law protecting endangered species.

Read the full story from the Associated Press

 

CALIFORNIA: Oil spill cleanup improves, fisheries to stay closed longer

November 8, 2021 — Five weeks after a ruptured underwater pipeline spilled crude in the waters off Southern California, cleanup crews have cleared about a third of the shoreline and the amount of oily waste collected is tapering, an official said Friday.

Fisheries remain closed and aren’t likely to reopen before the final week of the month, said Lt. Christian Corbo of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Crews have removed upward of 500,000 pounds (227,000 kilograms) of tar balls, as well as oil-tainted sand, seaweed and driftwood. The amount of oily debris collected each day has tapered off, and more than a third of the shoreline is nearing final cleanup approval.

Read the full story at the AP

 

Feds offer loans to those harmed by California oil spill

October 28, 2021 — The federal government will offer disaster loans to businesses harmed by an oil spill that shut down Southern California shorelines earlier this month, it was announced Wednesday.

The U.S. Small Business Administration approved disaster assistance in the form of low-interest loans for Orange County, where the spill took place, along with nearby Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

The agency declared an “economic injury disaster” for the counties, making loans available for small businesses and agricultural cooperatives and private, non-profit organizations.

The deadline to apply for the loans is July 27, 2022. Applicants can sign up online at: https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/.

Read the full story from the Associated Press

Experts ask Congress for more offshore oil oversight as California cleanup continues

October 15, 2021 — Nearly two weeks after a pipeline ruptured and leaked tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, environmental policy experts testified before Congress on Thursday, urging lawmakers to require more federal oversight of aging and abandoned offshore oil platforms and pipelines.

The recent spill off the Orange County coast has put the nation’s oil and gas infrastructure under new scrutiny. Some California lawmakers and environmental advocates have called for a prohibition on all future offshore drilling, while others want to extend a ban to companies already operating in state and federal waters.

In testimony before the House subcommittee on energy and mineral resources, offshore drilling experts painted a bleak picture of the federal government’s ability to ensure that oil and gas companies plug their old wells and dismantle existing platforms and pipelines. They warned that if Congress does not create financial incentives for the industry to pay the full cost of decommissioning its equipment, taxpayers will be stuck with the bill.

The cost could be astronomical. The federal government’s own estimates suggest that between $35 billion and $50 billion would be needed to plug offshore oil and gas wells that are no longer producing — or are no longer profitable. Meanwhile, companies have committed to financing only about $3.7 billion, less than a tenth of the expected cost.

Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times

 

Marine wildlife may suffer the consequences of SoCal’s oil spill for years to come

October 8, 2021 — “We’re scared to see what we’re going to find out,” Sarah Glitz, a marine scientist for Oceana, said of the Oct. 2 oil spill off the Southern California coast.

Glitz, like many scientists, has watched in horror as the ecological disaster unfurls along the coastline where about 126,000 gallons of crude oil seeped into the Pacific Ocean and indefinitely closed several Orange County beaches and fisheries.

Veterinarians are in the field tending to the injured animals that wash ashore. But it may be weeks, months, even years before the full extent of the disaster and impact on birds and marine mammals is known, Glitz said.

Already, 15 oiled birds have been recovered, two of which were dead, the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at  UC Davis reported.

Read the full story at SFGATE