Marine life in the Gulf of Mexico is still struggling to recover from the impacts of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.
According to a study published by the National Academy of Sciences, fish populations in the gulf plummeted by more than 63% between 2011 and 2015, while macrocrustaceans like shrimp and krill — primary food sources for whales — fell off by 62%, and cephalopods dropped off by nearly 60%. That sudden dip in populations among marine life outpaced any decline in similar waters over the past 60 years.
The spill was triggered in April of 2010 by an explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil well drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers, injuring 17 others, and releasing 134 million gallons of oil into the water before the well was capped three months later. Researchers have continued surveying the area regularly since 2015, finding in each year that low populations among marine life have persisted, excepting a slight rise between 2022 and 2023 that was not considered statistically significant.
A separate study conducted by researchers between 2010 and 2020 using acoustic monitoring found that populations of Gervais' beaked whales fell by 68%-83% across three deep-water sites in the Gulf of Mexico. Sperm whale populations in some areas also fell by as much as 31%, while small delphinids — a species of dolphin — dropped by as much as 43%.
Massive and immediate population losses directly after the spill stemmed from marine species that were instantly killed or affected by chemicals that were stored in their eggs. That led to less genetic variation among species in ensuing generations, resulting in a higher frequency of inbreeding among survivors. With a narrower genetic pool, fewer generations were equipped to survive any potential new diseases or environmental changes, and faced an increased likelihood of sharing harmful recessive traits down the line.
