Saving Seafood

USF researchers sampled more than 2,000 fish in the Gulf of Mexico. They found oil pollution in every one.

April 16, 2020 — In the decade since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, researchers from the University of South Florida have circled the Gulf of Mexico, catching fish and cutting them open in search of toxic pollution.

They found that the gulf is a “greasy place,” said Steve Murawski, a USF fisheries biologist. All of the 2,503 fish they studied showed traces of oil exposure, not to the level of being unsafe to eat but enough to raise questions about species’ long-term health, according to the study just published in Nature Scientific Reports.

The scientists looked for evidence of toxic hydrocarbons — compounds found in crude oil — and did not connect their results to the disaster specifically. Oil leaks into the gulf for many reasons, from natural seeps to river runoff and boating discharges. That makes it nearly impossible to track pollution in fish to a specific cause. But some findings suggest the spill had an effect, Murawski said.

Read the full story at the Tampa Bay Times

Florida researchers team to map entire Florida coast, wildlife habitats

July 24, 2018 — The USF College of Marine Science is teaming up with the Florida Institute of Oceanography to map the entire Florida coast, as well as gather data on fish spawning areas in the state’s coastal waters.

  • Researchers developing maps of essential sealife habitats
  • Florida Coastal Mapping Program capturing high resolution maps of coast
  • Less than 20 percent of Florida’s coastal waters have been mapped

Researchers from the two schools are pushing forward a number of projects while working onboard the Weatherbird II research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.

One of those projects involved gathering HD video of the sea bottom to count the number of Red Snapper in the gulf utilizing an instrument called a “C-BASS.” The Weatherbird tows the C-BASS about six feet off the bottom of the ocean floor and utilizes lights and cameras to capture all the action.

It’s all part of the C-SCAMP project, which is also developing high-resolution multibeam maps to identify essential habitats on the West Florida shelf.

“It’s really important not only for just finding out what’s there, but also for the management of our natural resources,” said USF Professor Steve Murawski. “So, we’re trying to close this huge gap in terms of our understanding of what’s on the sea floor and how valuable it is.”

Read the full story at Spectrum News 13

University of South Florida to study how commercial fishermen were affected economically by BP oil spill

December 27, 2016 — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Six years ago, when the Deepwater Horizon disaster forced the federal government to close off vast tracts of the Gulf of Mexico to fishing, some commercial fisherman weighed anchor and tried their luck elsewhere. Others quit fishing to work for BP on the cleanup.

But exactly how many did which, and what impact that had on their finances, has never been gauged.

Now, thanks to a $1 million grant, marine scientists from the University of South Florida, the University of Miami and University of California will try to figure that out. They will examine data that they expect will help them understand how the oil spill affected fishermen economically.

The researchers hope to learn how many tried a new fishing area and how many worked on the cleanup, and which paid better.

The grant from the National Academies of Science would then allow them to create a computer model to calculate how future oil spills might hurt the fishing industry in other areas, said Steve Murawski, a USF fisheries biologist who has overseen numerous projects related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

“Say five years from now there’s a proposal for drilling off Florida,” Murawski said. “We could make a projection that if there’s a spill, what would be the impact on the counties there.”

The Deepwater Horizon disaster began in April 2010 with an explosion that killed 11 crew members. The rig sank 5,000 feet to the bottom of the gulf and began gushing oil.

Because the leak happened so far from the surface, BP could not immediately shut it off. Underwater robots sent down to monitor the spill broadcast live footage of the oil gushing from the rig, footage shown around the world.

Read the full story at the Tampa Bay Times