The Ecotox Program is at the forefront, nationally and internationally, of targeted research to characterize the impacts of petroleum hydrocarbons on NOAA trust resources, particularly fish early life stages. This work is extending lessons learned from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, through the Cosco Busan spill in San Francisco Bay, to an array of current and intensive activities associated with the Deepwater Horizon natural resource damage assessment in the Gulf of Mexico. This research has been particularly influential in recent years (PNAS papers in 2011 and 2012), with major Deepwater papers forthcoming in 2012 and 2013. Funding has come from NOS/ORR, the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, the Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council, the San Francisco Estuary Institute, and other sources. Ecotox is currently developing new tools to assess PAH exposure and toxicity in fish and other animals, with national applicability - e.g., in advance of anticipated oil drilling in the Arctic, beginning in the summer of 2012. Ongoing NRDA study of the effects of the 2011 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This work supports NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP).

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for anadromous fish and rare fish species occurrences in Central California. Vector lines in this data set represent the beginning points for coastal anadromous runs, juvenile rearing and adult congregation areas for anadromous species, and sensitive habitat for rare species (tidewater goby). Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer.This data set comprises a portion of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Central California. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. See also the FISH (Fish Polygons) data layer, part of the larger Central California ESI database, for additional fish information.

In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, there was concern about the risk to human health through consumption of contaminated seafood from the region. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in collaboration with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency, and Gulf Coast States, worked together to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico was safe to eat by developing seafood safety criteria, monitoring procedures, re-opening protocols, as well as seafood surveillance monitoring plans. As part of this seafood safety assessment, edible tissues of seafood collected in state and federal waters were tested for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dispersants using sensory testing, as well as chemical analyses. To increase the analytical capacities of laboratories testing seafood from the Gulf, the FDA developed and validated high-performance liquid chromatography/fluorescence and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry methods (in conjunction with NOAA) that accurately and precisely measured chemical compounds, including dispersants, associated with this oil spill event. Thousands of seafood samples collected during reopening and surveillance in the Gulf, as well as those obtained dockside and in the marketplace, have been analyzed using these methods. This dataset includes information on levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dispersant component dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate in edible tissues of commercially and recreationally important seafood species collected in Federal waters in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

In response to the growing concerns among Chugach communities, contaminant body burden and histopathological condition of chum and sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus keta and Oncorhynchus nerka) and the shellfish cockles and softshell clams (Clinocardium nuttallii and Mya arenaria) were assessed. The fish and shellfish were collected from traditional subsistence harvest areas in the vicinity of Nanwalek, Port Graham and Seldovia, AK, and were analyzed for trace metals and residues of organic contaminants. Additionally, the fish and shellfish were histologically characterized for the presence, prevalence and severity of tissue pathology, disease, and parasite infections. Data served under this project include measurements of trace elements, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls, DDTs, chlorinated hydrocarbons and histopathology parameters, which include an array of about 30 parasitic taxa (e.g. bucephalus, chlamydia, ciliates, cestodes and nematodes) and 11 diseases (e.g. tumors, neoplasm and necrosis). This project provides invaluable baseline data that is georeferenced and served on the internet through the NOAA's National Status and Trends data portal.

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for forage fish in Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. Vector polygons in this data set represent herring spawning and pre-spawner holding areas. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer.This data set comprises a portion of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. See also the FISHL (Fish Lines) data layer, part of the larger Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca ESI database, for additional fish information.

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for marine, estuarine, anadromous, and brackish water fish species in Mississippi. Vector polygons in this data set represent fish distribution and nursery areas. Species specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer.This data set comprises a portion of the ESI data for Mississippi. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources.

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for anadromous and threatened/endangered stream species in Northern California. Vector lines in this data set represent trout and salmon spawning runs and sensitive stream species. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set comprises a portion of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Northern California. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. See also the FISH (Fish Polygons) data layer, part of the larger Northern California ESI database, for additional fish information.

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for marine, estuarine, and anadromous fish species in Central California. Vector polygons in this data set represent general distribution, nearshore concentration areas, spawning areas, and rare species occurrences. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer.This data set comprises a portion of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Central California. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. See also the FISHL (Fish Lines) data layer, part of the larger Central California ESI database, for additional fish information.

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for threatened/endandered/rare and/or anadromous fish species in Southern California. Vector lines in this data set represent threatened/endandered/rare and/or anadromous fish species in streams and rivers. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set comprises a portion of the ESI data for Southern California. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. See also the FISH data layer, part of the larger Southern California ESI database, for additional fish information.

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for marine, estuarine, anadromous, and freshwater fish species in Northern California. Vector polygons in this data set represent fish distribution, concentration areas, nursery areas, and salmon/trout spawning runs. Species specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set comprises a portion of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Northern California. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. See also the FISHL (Fish Lines) data layer, part of the larger Northern California ESI database, for additional fish information.