Study Finds Toxic Metal Concentrations in Gulf Whales Are Likely the Highest In the World

The sperm whales of the Gulf of Mexico have higher levels of chromium and nickel in their systems than sperm whales found anywhere else in the world, according to the preliminary analysis of Operation Toxic Gulf, a joint venture between Ocean Alliance and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

This summer, for the fourth consecutive year, Ocean Alliance has collected tissue samples from Gulf sperm whales to study the ongoing effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The crew have made several stops in Pensacola over the past two months and concluded their 2013 Gulf expedition with a public presentation at Open Books Sunday evening and a press conference Monday morning.

Dr. Iain Kerr, CEO of Ocean Alliance, said that while initial analysis is underway, the team’s primary concern at this point is data collection in the aftermath of the unprecedented spill and use of chemical dispersants.

“The Gulf is America’s nursery. Over 21 species of whales live in the Gulf of Mexico,” Kerr told the Sunday crowd at Open Books, “We’re concerned, again, because we were worried that the strategy has increased the toxic potential of the crude oil rather than decreased it.”

Kerr likened the data collection effort to, “running through a burning library trying to grab books before it’s all gone. This event is playing out in the Gulf of Mexico right now.”

Through their study, it is Ocean Alliance’s goal to identify the impacts and hopefully influence policies about the use of dispersants in the world’s oceans. “There’s a toxicological experiment going on in the Gulf,” in light of the use of 2 million gallons of the dispersant Corexit in 2010, Kerr stated, “The current absence of toxicity data makes it impossible to judge the strategy, beyond removing oil from public view and public pressure.”

Marine mammals such as sperm whales, Kerr explained, are, after humans, at the top of the Gulf’s food chain. As apex predators, they eat smaller animals and accumulate the range of toxins present in their environment as a result.

“It’s really important now in the years after the spill to collect this data,” Kerr reiterated.

To determine the levels of toxins present in Gulf sperm whales, the joint Ocean Alliance-Sea Shepherd crew used underwater microphones to locate whales, and took pencil eraser-sized samples of skin and blubber using biopsy darts. Initial processing of samples was conducted in a lab aboard the RV Odyssey, and the samples will be stored and analyzed at the University of Southern Maine.

Dr. Roger Payne, who founded Ocean Alliance in 1970, helped to pioneer non-lethal biological data collection methods such as those used in the Gulf study. Ocean Alliance’s previous studies of sperm whales around the world allow them to put results from the Gulf into the context of sperm whale health globally.

“Ocean Alliance went around the world from 2000 to 2005 and we collected baseline data on sperm whales in 21 countries around the world. So we actually have a data set of what sperm whales look like around the world,” said Kerr, who estimates 1,000 to 1,600 of the world’s approximate 300,000 sperm whales live in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. John Wise, of the Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic Toxicology of the University of Southern Maine, led the research trips to the Gulf from 2010 through 2012, and continues to conduct analysis of the samples. Kerr said it is Wise who first began looking at the levels of metals in the whale tissue samples.

“So far at least, I can tell you that the levels of nickel and the levels of chromium are higher than we’ve found anywhere else in the world,” Kerr reported.

Metals such cadmium, nickel, and chromium—a well-known carcinogen—are commonly found in crude oil. Kerr said their study is only beginning to hypothesize about the source of the toxins in Gulf whales, “The most obvious place to look initially is from the crude oil and from the dispersants. That may not be the case.”

The causes and impacts of the elevated nickel and chromium levels will be the subject of ongoing study.

“We’re not trying to prove anybody right or wrong here. The reality is we really want to know was the use of dispersants injected at the well head and on the surface the right thing to do. Because unfortunately, there probably will be some other type of oil spill in the future,” said Kerr.

As a non-profit, Ocean Alliance relies on foundation monies and donations to operate. Due to a lack of funding, it appeared early on that a 2013 study might not be possible. Then Sea Shepherd Conservation Society–the conservation group featured on Animal Planet’s “Whale Wars”—stepped in to assist, and the study, now called “Operation Toxic Gulf,” moved forward this year.

“Our concern is honestly about chronic exposure over time,” Kerr said, explaining that the biological impacts of pollution manifest themselves in the long term, adding to the importance of an extended research and analysis, “There is no smoking gun; it’s really a slow, deliberate process year after year.”

Mortality rates are difficult to determine among marine mammals, Kerr noted, as most dolphins and whales sink when they die. “For all we know, 500 whales died in the Gulf, but if they died, they just sank,” Kerr stated.

In addition to analyzing the biopsies, the crew also collected samples from oil slicks they encountered. Other observations about the whales’ behavior and appearance were also documented.

Kerr said during this expedition, the crew photographed white patches and indentations on the skin of several whales, “I have spent twenty years working with sperm whales and I’ve never seen this scarring anywhere else in the world.” The crew also noticed a drop in the number of whales encountered when seismic testing was underway, another of the oil industry’s possible impacts on the Gulf ecosystem.

This week, the crew of the RV Odyssey will wrap up the 2013 sampling while traveling to Key West, the ship’s home port.

Though the expeditions and analysis are expensive, with Sea Shepherd’s support Kerr hopes to realize his goal of completing a 10 year study in the Gulf, “I would like to come back for another six years,” he told reporters, “Even if the analysis isn’t done tomorrow or next month or next year, once you’ve got that data you can then use it to understand the problem.”

For additional information about the study, visit: http://www.seashepherd.org.au/toxic-gulf/