Hydrocarbon pollution of the sea and its influence on marine organisms

Abstract

1. Marine oil pollution is becoming a major problem. The amount of pollution by oil and oil products may be expected to increase in the near future due to (a) the increase in number of sea going ships, including the tanker fleet, (b) the use of shelf zones for oil drilling, (c) poor international legislative measures to prevent oil pollution in the open seas. 2. Hydrocarbon products, especially oils, exert detrimental effects on the hyponeuston (organismic community near the water surface), eggs and larvae of fishes, e. g., the plaice (Rhombus maeoticus) phyto- and zooplankton, nectonic organisms, including adult fishes (via direct damage or by causing them to emigrate), and a variety of benthic organisms. 3. In general, eggs and larval stages of marine organisms seem to be more sensitive than their adult counterparts. 4. There is great need for long-term studies employing sublethal criteria. 5. Marine birds are killed by the thousand and hundred-thousands per year due to oil pollution. 6. Hydrocarbon pollution represents a new, unfavorable, ecological factor which may lead to permanent changes in the biological structure of the oceans and coastal waters, and which finally may reduce their productivity. © 1968 Biologischen Anstalt Helgoland.