Impacts to Pink Salmon Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Persistence, Toxicity, Sensitivity, and Controversy

Abstract

Injury to a species resulting from long-term exposure to low concentrations of pollutants is seldom noted or even tested. One of the products of the Exxon Valdez oil spill was the first report of damage to eggs and larvae of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) following long-term exposure to low concentrations of weathered crude oil. These life stages were previously thought to be highly resistant to injury from oil. Growth rate among migrating fry was depressed, and the population was reduced via size-dependent mortality. Elevated egg mortality in oiled streams continued for at least 4 years after the spill. Laboratory tests verified that embryos are sensitive to long-term exposure to weathered oil in the low parts per billion range. These results are compared with those of studies conducted by investigators funded by Exxon Corporation and, where controversy exists, we attempt to reconcile the studies. These findings are important to the pink salmon fisheries of Prince William Sound (PWS) and are also broadly applicable to toxicity and impact from nonpoint source pollution of urban estuaries.