Part 11: Have many reefs been damaged by spills?

Unfortunately, many past spills in coral reef environments have been poorly documented, especially those dating back several decades. Reviewing oil spills from the Pacific, Caribbean, and Arabian regions, we know that some events have caused devastating, long-lasting impacts, while others have caused little long-term impact to corals.

One extensively studied spill occurred at Bahia Las Minas, Panama in April, 1986. An estimated 60,000-100,000 barrels of medium weight crude oil spilled into the waters of the bay, causing widespread lethal and sub-lethal effects to coral.

In contrast, in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf Spill in January 1991, the largest oil spill in history, an estimated 6.3 million barrels of oil were released. Given the magnitude of this release and the coral reef impacts noted at other tropical spills, there were dire expectations of severe impacts to reefs in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. However, to date, the extent of coral reef damage directly attributable to the Gulf Spill has been remarkably minor.