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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on December 3, 2007
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2008 65(1):44-50; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsm176
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© 2007 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Herring and the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill: an investigation into historical data conflicts

Richard E. Thorne1, and Gary L. Thomas2

1 Prince William Sound Science Center, PO Box 705, Cordova, AK 99574, USA
2 Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA

Correspondence to R. E. Thorne: tel: +1 907 4245800; fax: +1 907 4245820; e-mail: rthorne{at}pwssc.org

Thorne, R. E., and Thomas, G. L. 2008. Herring and the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill: an investigation into historical data conflicts. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 44–50.

It was generally believed that the 1989 "Exxon Valdez" oil spill did not cause the collapse of the Prince William Sound Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) population because of a 4-year gap between the spill and the collapse. However, we noted in a previous paper that some data suggested an earlier timing for the herring decline. We examine historical patterns of herring spawn, anomalies in historical fisheries model predictions, changes in predation behaviour of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), and a decadal database of acoustic measurements of herring biomass. Behaviour of adult herring makes them especially vulnerable to damage from oil spills, something that was either unknown or misunderstood at the time of the spill. We therefore argue that the start of the herring decline was coincident with the oil spill, and that the decline took place over a 5-year period, rather than the single-year collapse previously reported. Although a comprehensive management approach is now in use for herring, the tools were not in place at the time of the oil spill or the subsequent collapse.

Keywords: acoustic survey, age-structured assessment, environmental impact assessment, "Exxon Valdez" oil spill, Pacific herring, Prince William Sound, stock assessment

Received 12 September 2007; accepted 2 November 2007; advance access publication 3 December 2007.


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