Community-based assessment of marine resources contamination after a large-scale oil spill

Abstract

As of August 2019, several oil slicks reached the Brazilian coast, compromising local ecosystems and the economy of coastal communities. In this context, this study aimed to assess seafood quality at the Canavieiras Extractive Reserve (RESEX), located in the state of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil, by determining polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentrations in local biota following the oil spill. It was designed and carried out in a participatory manner, involving RESEX fi shers, shellfi sh and crab gatherers and managers, as well as university researchers. A total of 72 biota samples were analyzed, and the sum of the 16 priority USEPA PAHs ranged from less than the limit of detection to 30.81 ng g -1 (w.w.). When also considering alkylated compounds, concentrations ranged from 3.53 to 360.75 ng g -1 (w.w.). No sample contained PAHs concentrations suggestive of human consumption risks. No difference in PAHs concentrations between the six studied areas and regarding different biota feeding habits were observed. Higher PAHs concentrations were generally noted in molluscs, as these organisms do not have enzyme systems capable of metabolizing these compounds. This initiative demonstrated the feasibility of participatory construction resulting in a study concerning valued species to local communities, ensuring a contribution to local fi shing and marketing activities.

Oil Spill on the Brazilian Coast

“…The articles included studies about remote sensing/numerical modeling of oil slicks (Nobre et al 2022), mapping using Remote Sensing data of the impacted areas and its correlation with socioeconomic typology of the municipalities directly affected (Freire et al 2022), and a technical evaluation of image attributes to support the identifi cation of ocean targets, including oil spills, rain cells, biofi lms, and low wind conditions (Lentini et al 2022). Other articles address chemical analysis of the oil in different compartments and environmental ecosystems to determine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentrations in local biota to assess seafood quality (Hamacher et al 2022), bioaccumulatiuon, bioaccessibility and risk analysis (Melo et al 2022) and also describe the extension of affected coastline and possible origin, indicating that discharges of oil in the open sea occurred more regularly than initially expected (Lobão et al 2022). On the other hand, the environmental and socioeconomic impacts on different ecosystems (beaches, mangroves, reefs), were assessed by the analysis of the disaster's damage using a sample of interviewers who were impacted -fishers, tourism and beach hawkers (Ferreira et al 2022).…”