VERTIMAR-2005
Symposium on Marine Accidental Oil Spills
Integrated assessment of the effects of the Prestige oil spill in
Galicia and the Biscay gulf: toxicological, ecological,
productive and socioeconomical aspects (PRESTEPSE)
Miren P. CAJARAVILLE1*, Isabel DÍEZ2, Jose María GOROSTIAGA2, Nestor
ETXEBARRIA3, Inmaculada ASTORKIZA4, José Vicente TARAZONA5 and Guzmán
DÍEZ6
1Cell
Biology and Histology Lab, 2Marine Benthos Lab, 3Analytical Chemistry Lab, 4Economy of Fisheries
Resources, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao; 5Ecotoxicology Lab, INIA, Madrid; 6AZTI Tecnalia,
Sukarrieta.
*Corresponding author: Tel: +34-94-6012697; fax: +34-94-6013500, e-mail: zopcabem@lg.ehu.es,
http:// www.ehu.es/ImpactoBiologicoPrestige
1. INTRODUCTION
In November 2002 the tanker Prestige sunk in front of the Galician coast. As a result, about
60.000 tons of heavy fuel oil were leaked into the sea affecting more than a thousand km of
coastline, including that of the Biscay Gulf. In order to assess the short-term effects of the oil
spill on biota, we participated in two “special actions” launched by the Spanish Ministry of
Science and Technology in 2003. The first action was focused in monitoring the health of
sentinel coastal organisms by using early warning biomarkers of exposure and effects. The
second action was directed to determine the effects of the oil spill on the platform ecosystems
and fisheries resources. The studies initiated in 2003 were continued and extended in the
framework of the PRESTEPSE coordinated research project and the IMPRES strategic project.
The objective of PRESTEPSE was to perform an integrated assessment of the effects of the
Prestige oil spill in Galicia and the Biscay Gulf comprising toxicological, ecological, productive
and socioeconomical aspects (PREStige, Toxicological, Ecological, Productive and
SocioEconomical aspects, acronym PRESTEPSE). 6 research groups participate in the project,
namely, the Cell Biology in Environmental Toxicology group, the Marine Benthos group, the
Environmental Analytical Chemistry group and the Economy of Fisheries Resources group of
the University of the Basque Country, the Ecotoxicology laboratory of INIA and the Marine
Research Unit of AZTI. The main emphasis of the multidisciplinary programme was on the
integration and modelling of results obtained in the different fields.
2. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Cell Biology in Environmental Toxicology group is involved in the toxicological
assessment of the impact of the fuel oil on littoral sentinel species (mussels) and on two fish
species constituting important fisheries resources such as the anchovy (pelagic) and the hake
(demersal) using early warning biomarkers of exposure and effects of the fuel oil, and powerful
complementary tools such as genomics and proteomics. In mussels, employed biomarkers
(peroxisome proliferation, lysosomal responses, cell type replacement and structure of digestive
gland tubules) detected highest degree of disturbance in areas most impacted by the oil spill
(Galicia) and were able to evidence a recovery trend during 2004. In fish, biomarker
measurements and histopathology of the liver served to establish a set of data useful for
comparison with further campaigns. More details are given in the abstracts by Garmendia et al
and Díaz et al.
The group at INIA performed the toxicological evaluation of the impact of the fuel oil using
bioassays of sublethal toxicity and in vitro assays with water extracts from weathered fuel oil
that reached the Basque coast. Unspecific toxicity was not evidenced in standard OECD assays
with algae (Chlorella) or Daphnia magna or in cytotoxicity assays with fish cell lines RTG 2 and
RTL-W1. The extract was able to induce expression of CYP1A and activity of EROD, which
could be related with further long-term effects on organisms.
The group of Marine Benthos carried out a series of pilot studies in selected Basque
locations in order to assess the impact of the fuel oil on the intertidal benthic system through the
characterization of key communities and their alterations along a spatio-temporal monitoring. In
VERTIMAR-2005
Symposium on Marine Accidental Oil Spills
the lower intertidal zone a total of 154 algae and 83 animal taxa were recorded and 17 animal
taxa in the medial intertidal zone. Significant differences were detected in the composition and
structure of both phytobenthic and zoobenthic communities between different sampling
campaigns. Further studies are needed in order to attribute these differences to the oil spill or to
the natural variability of studied communities. More details are given by Bustamante et al. and
Díez et al.
The group of Environmental Analytical Chemistry performed a spatio-temporal monitoring of
hydrocarbon concentrations in mussels collected along the coast of Galicia and the Bay of
Biscay, in limpets from selected Basque localities and in the liver of anchovy and hake. Applied
analytical methods were validated in two intercalibration trials and two reference materials
(mussel and hake liver) were prepared. Decreasing of the total PAH content was observed from
February 2004 to April 2005 in mussels from all the sampling points. Several chemical indexes
showed that the pollution pattern fits with the petrogenic origin of the PAHs. More information is
given in the abstract by Arana et al.
The Marine Research Unit of AZTI focused on the assessment of the influence of the spilled
fuel oil on the fisheries of anchovy and hake, including hydrocarbon analysis, prevalence of
histopathologic lesions and effects on reproduction, fecundity and species abundance. As
presented in the abstract by Díaz et al, all fish muscle samples presented PAH concentrations
below the limits established by the AESA. Variable numbers of atretic oocytes and degenerated
immature oocytes were found in gonads but it is not known yet if these were caused as a
consequence of the oil spill. Significant differences in the somatic condition index of anchovy
larvae were detected between different campaigns. Studies on larvae biochemical composition
and batch fecundity are in progress.
The group Economy of Fisheries Resources in collaboration with AZTI is investigating the
socioeconomical impact of the “Prestige’s oil spill focusing on the assessment of losses in the
fish-extraction, commercial and transformation sectors in the Basque Country. The evaluation of
the losses has been focused in income and employment levels as well as in other
socioeconomic variables of interest for the whole sea-industry complex. Hake and anchovy
markets have also been analyzed to evaluate possible commercial effects on them since
induced changes in the composition and structure of the demand and supply can occur
reinforcing the drop in income. Significant effects on income and other parameters was detected
in the 2003 campaign when compared with the pre-spill campaign 1999, but these effects were
compensated by the income obtained through fuel cleaning activities along 2003. As partial
results from other subprojects are obtained, the results/variables that show more negative
impacts in the short-, medium- and long-term on the growth of hake and anchovy populations,
their abundance and productivity will be selected and integrated in the analysis.
All the results obtained have been introduced in three databases (mussel, fish and
community databases) that will be subjected to univariate and multivariate statistical analysis.
The integration of the different kinds of biological data plus the chemical data will allow to
develop modelling studies of the relationship between pollutant concentrations and toxicity at
short-, intermediate- and long-terms. These predictive bioaccumulation/toxicity models
developed by INIA and other project partners will be compared with the results obtained in the
field. Finally, causality of some of the observed effects will be investigated further in short- and
long-term laboratory experiments with a marine fuel oil similar to that discharged from the
Prestige.
*Funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (“special actions” and project
vem2003-20082-CO6-PRESTEPSE), by the Basque Government (ETORTEK actions-IMPRES)
and by the University of the Basque Country (grant to consolidated research groups).