How vulnerable is Indian coast to oil spills?

Impact of MV Ocean Seraya oil spill

Author(s): S. Sivadas, A. Gregory and B. Ingole
Source: Current Science , 25 August 2008, Vol. 95, No. 4 (25 August 2008), pp. 504-512
Published by: Current Science Association

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RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

interference, we use only the second row ofthe S and

extentkeep
to which a given component of the acquisition
all other samples of D together. To preservesystemthe signal
is allowed to degrade before it must be repaired or
acquisition
content, an edge effect-free prediction filter is designed, must be delayed. All specs should be recon
which is able to preserve the primary signal assidered
the filter
periodically to ensure that they take into account
never exceeds the edge of the 3D data slice. advances in acquisition and processing technology, as
The most common SI originates from other well seismic
as new demands in interpretation. Only through ad
sources working in the same area at the same [Link]
herence properly chosen specs can one obtain data that,
has been studied by the application of f-x-yafter prediction
processing, will yield results not unacceptably com
filters in the f-x domain and tested on a new dataset
promised from
by choices made in the acquisition.
the Gulf of Mexico with a long streamer configuration of
1. Akbulut, K., Saeland, O., Farmer, P. and Curtis, J., Suppression of
9000 m. The input RMS noise plot from a lineseismic that was
interference noise on Gulf of Mexico data. In 54th Annual
contaminated with seismic interference is plotted for the
International Meeting of Society of Exploration Geophysicists,
first 350 traces (for better resolution) as shown in Figure
Expanded Abstracts, 1984, pp. 527-529.
3 a. The amplitude of the SI varies from 15 [Link] 30 nbar.
Lynn, W., Doyle, M., Larner, K. and Marschall, R., Experimental
The output of the process is given in Figure 3investigation
b. In theof interference from other seismic crews. Geophysics,
1987,52, 1501-1524.
dataset, where signal and high-amplitude SI are present
3. Brink, M., Method in a real time control system for seismic interfer
together, the process preserves the signal while attenuat
ence. US Patent 1991, 5,014,249.
ing SI. 4. Hawkins, K., Barnes, S. R. and Fookes, G. P. G., Method of reduc
Interference noise and random noise have also been tion of noise from seismic data traces. US Patent 1998, 5,818,795.
studied on the stack sections which are also contaminated. 5. Dragoset, B., Geophysical applications of adaptive noise cancella
tion. In 65th Annual International Meeting of Society of Exploration
An example of the seismic stack section from a different Geophysicists, 1995, pp. 1389-1392.
line in the Gulf of Mexico is presented in Figure 4 a.6. Gulunay, N. and Pattberg, D., Seismic interference noise removal.
High-amplitude SI and random noise are clearly visible SEG Expanded Abstracts, 2001, vol. 20, 1989.
on the stack section. The f-x-y prediction filter technique7. Gulunay, N., Magesan, M. and Baldock, S., Seismic interference
noise attenuation. In 74th Ann. Internat., Mtg., SEG, Expanded Ab
identifies and removes SI from stacks belonging to a sin
stracts, 2004, pp. 1973-1976.
gle subsurface line of a 3D marine recording. Hence it is 8. Huaien, W., Guangxin, L., Curtis, E. H. and Snyder, F. C., Attenua
applied to the original data (NMO corrected) to eliminate tion of marine coherent noise. In 59th Annual International Meeting
SI (Figure 4 b). The difference between the raw and de of Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Expanded Abstracts, 1989,
noised stack is calculated as shown in Figure 4 c. Another pp. 1112-1114.
example from a different area is shown in Figure 5.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We thank the Director, Schlumberger
Depending on the type of survey, significant level of
Reservoir Seismic Services, Mumbai, and the Director, National
seismic interference can drastically reduce the true pros Geophysical Research Institue, Hyderabad for permission to publish the
pects of an area. Standard 3D processing can provide some present work. N.K.T. thanks CSIR, New Delhi, for the emeritus scien
attenuation of seismic interference but cannot eliminate it tist position.
completely. The method described here combines inline
Received 10 December 2007; revised accepted 15 May 2008
and crossline f-x prediction filters in detecting and at
tenuating ST on 3D marine seismic data from the Gulf of
Mexico. This approach maximizes signal fidelity while
avoiding the transform artifacts found in other methods. How vulnerable is Indian coast to oil
In this method the direction as well as amplitude of seismic
interference do not matter. Thus the asynchronous charac spills? Impact of MV Ocean Seraya
oil spill
ter of the interference is the only condition for the success
of this technique. In this way, a frequency that does not
contain interference noise can be treated differently from
S. Sivadas, A. Gregory and B. Ingole*
frequencies that do.
Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography,
The present study suggests that application of inline
Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India
and crossline f-x prediction filters efficiently eliminates
noises generated by neighbouring ships as well as the
On 30 May 2006, a bulk carrier, MV Ocean Seraya
random noise. We observe that the process preserves re
ran aground along the Karwar coast spilling 650 tonnes
flection energy while suppressing SI and enhances spatial of oil. Due to the rough SW monsoon, the spill spread
continuity. This will reduce the financial risk associatedto some beaches in south Goa. The aim of this com
with advanced seismic processing for fluid/lithology dis munication is to study the immediate impact of oil
crimination and the imaging of saturation and pressurespill on benthic ecology. We have also reviewed the
changes using time-lapse seismic data. impact of frequent spills on the benthic community i
Quality control during seismic data acquisition is gov
rned by predefined specifications or 'specs'. A spec defines*For correspondence, (e-mail: baban@[Link])

504 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 95, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2008

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 RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

particular, and marine fishery in general.

tialIntertidal
impact of frequent oil spills on the macrobenthic
sampling was carried out on 10 June 2006. Organic
community and marine fishery.
carbon (1%) and petroleum hydrocarbon (13 MV p.g g~')
Ocean Seraya, a Panamanian bearing flag bulk
were highest at Polem, as it was closest to carrier the spill site. 650 tonnes of fuel oil and 40 tonnes of
carrying
Twenty macrobenthic taxa which included crusta
diesel, drifted and ran over submerged rocks off Karwar
ceans and bivalves were identified. Although the study
on 30 May 2006 (Figure 2). On 2 June 2006, the oil spill
is based on short-term sampling, it showed an increase
touched Polem beach on the Goa-Karnataka border. Due
in petroleum hydrocarbon in the sediment. A review
of the oil spill data indicates that accidental spills have to the monsoon winds, the impact of the slick was also
shown a decline globally, in contrast to increase in visible more than 20 km away in south Goa at Palolem
maritime transport. However, a reverse trend was ob and Canacona.

served along the Indian coast for the Arabian Sea. Fur Polem (74°4'E, 14°54'N) and Agonda (73°59'E, 15°2'N)
ther, majority of the spills occurred during the SWare situated in the southern most part of Goa (Figure 1).
monsoon period, which coincided with the recruitment Benaulim (73°50'E and 15°15'N) forms a part of the long
period of most commercial and non-commercial spestretch of shallow, sandy beaches, interrupted by Zuari
cies. Therefore, although the spills occurring along the river in the north and Sal river in the south.
west coast are of small volume, frequent occurrence,
Field sampling was carried out on 10 June 2006 during
particularly during the critical stages of the life cycle
low tide at Polem, Agonda and Benaulim. Samples for
of organism, may have a long-term impact on the ma
rine biota. macrobenthos were collected using an acrylic core (0
12 cm). Sediment from the surface down to a depth of
10 cm was collected, sieved and preserved in neutralized
Keywords: Benthos, fishery, MV Ocean Seraya spill, 5% formaldehyde-Rose Bengal solution. Sediment was
organic carbon, petroleum hydrocarbon.
collected separately for organic carbon (OC) and petro
leum hydrocarbon (PHC) using an acrylic core (0 4.5 cm).
Oil pollution of the marine environment has been an issue Temperature (sediment, air and water) and salinity were
of considerable national and international concern. India
recorded using a field thermometer and refractometer re
relies heavily on the marine environment for trade spectively.
and
commercial operations. Further, two major oil choke In the laboratory, macrofauna were sorted, identified,
points of the world - Strait of Hormuz and Strait ofcounted
Ma and biomass was estimated by the wet weight
lacca lie on the west and east coasts of India. Due to the

narrowness of these lanes, the routes are accident-prone.

Moreover, import of oil and gas is growing faster than the
demand, particularly in the developing countries led by
China and India. The world's demand for petroleum pro
ducts has been estimated1 to go up from 84 mb/day in
2005 to 116 mb/day in 2030. The risk of major oil spill
occurring along the west coast of India is considerably
higher now, as there has been a significant increase in all
types of maritime trade. A major oil spill could cause
widespread ecological damage, and cripple or destroy
marine commercial operations. Therefore, continued dis
charge of oil into the sea can pose a potential risk of se
vere pollution to the sensitive coastal ecosystem.
Goa, located along the mid west coast of India, also
lies along the oil tanker route. Since 1994, four spills
have been reported (Figure 1) along the small coastal
strip of Goa. Grounding of MV Ocean Seraya on the
Karwar coast was reported to have affected the beaches in
south Goa from Polem to Benaulim. Earlier, in August
2005, large deposits of tarballs were reported from the
beaches in south Goa ([Link]). In view of the in
creased incidents of oil spills, it was felt necessary to
analyse and discuss the impact of oil spills on the benthic
community and coastal fishery. Therefore, the present
study was carried out to assess the immediate response
Location of sampling stations
and damage, if any, to the intertidal benthic community at
Polem, Agonda and Benaulim. We also discuss the potenFigure 1. Map showing the location of the study area.

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 95, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2008 505

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Figure 2. Grounded vessel MV Ocean Seraya off Karwar coasl (source: Indian Coast Guard).

Table 1. Environmental parameters in the study area

Temperature (°C) Surface water (ng 1"')

Salinity (psu)
Sediment Water Air Water Chlorophyll Phaeophytin

Polem 26 28 28 15 0.11 0.31

Agonda 27 29 26 29 0.42 1.28
Benaulim - - -
300.57 1.93

not available.

which accounts for 12% of all the tourist arrivals in India.

method. Mole crab, Emerita holtliuisi and the wedge clam,
Donax incarnatus were dominant in terms of faunal There are around 439 medium and 11 five-star hotels in
abundance. Therefore, the populations of both
[Link]
Oil spills not only affect ambience of the beaches,
were counted as adult and juvenile. The females ofalso
but are E. known to affect the coastal ecology and fish
holthuisi carrying eggs were again separated for further
ery on a long-term basis6.
analysis. All the eggs were separated, enumerated and
Environmental parameters (temperature: air, sediment,
studied for any abnormalities. Sediment OC was estima
surface water; salinity) observed were in accordance with
ted using the wet oxidation method2 and PHC thoseby hexane
recorded normally during the monsoon season (Ta
extraction3. Chlorophyll and phaeophytin were bleestimated
1). Salinity ranged between 15 and 30 psu. Low salinity
by acetone extraction method4. recorded (15 psu) at Polem was mainly due to heavy rains
The structure of the benthic community at each on thesite
sampling day. The values for surface water chlo
was calculated in terms of number of species (S), total
rophyll were highest (0.57 |ig 1"') at Benaulim.
abundance, total biomass, Shannon-Weiner species di chl a ranged from 0.01 to 0.03 ng g"1, with
Sediment
versity index (//'), evenness (J) and species richness (SR) value at Benaulim. OC values ranged from 0.2
the highest
using PRIMER5. The faunal density data were subjected
to 1%, Polem showing the higher value (Figure 3 a). PHC
to multidimensional scaling (MDS) ordinationlevel andinBray
the sediment varied from 1.97 to 13 ng g~' (Fig
Curtis cluster analysis. Correlation was sought ure 3 b). Higher PHC was recorded at Polem and the
between
the biological factors (macrofaunal abundance, biomass
lower at Agonda. The higher PHC observed at Polem was
and diversity) and sedimentary (OC, chlorophyll a (chl
due to its a)
close proximity to the oil spill site. Lower values
and PHC) parameters. of PHC at other stations could have been due to its dilu
MV Ocean Seraya ran aground off the Oystertion, Rocks
whichin increases with distance from the spill site.
Karwar, spilling 650 tonnes of fuel oil. The spill started
The average sediment hydrocarbon level along the Goa
spreading towards the Goa coast due to the roughcoast wasSW observed7 to be 7.1 ng g"1, indicating that PHC
monsoon winds. Frequent occurrence of tarballs wasand oil at Polem compared to the other beaches. Experi
higher
pollution along the beaches of Goa is a major threat
mental toevidence
the suggests that about 56% of the spilled oil
is adsorbed onto the bottom sediment8, where oxidation
tourism, which is one of the main employment-generating
industries in the state. About two million tourists
may take(bothplace over several years9. Oil stranded from
domestic and foreign) visit the Goan beaches every
Exxon year,
Valdez persisted for >10 years on some boulder

506 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 95, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2008

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Station

Figure 3. Organic carbon (a) and petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) (6) concentration in the study area (June 2006).

Stress. 0.06
5) o
A lt
A mt
>» 20
]
n
40' b HT
ph£mt
1
</) 60'

p LT
80 b mt

100
b ht B MT A mt A LT p lt p ht p MT

Figure 4. Cluster (a) and MDS (b) based on macrofaunal abundance. B, Benaulim; A, Agonda; P, Polem; HT,
High tide; MT, Mid tide; LT, Low tide.

of D. incarnatus and Gastrosaccus sp. was higher at

armoured beaches bordering the Gulf of Alaska. These
sites are 300-700 km away from the spill and the oil wasBenaulim beach. Clustering and MDS plot showed that
chemically similar to the 11-day oil of Exxon [Link] the three study areas differ in macrofaunal community
Thus, the degree of oil pollution in the marine environ(Figure 4). In Benaulim, mid tide was dominated by D.
ment may be more accurately assessed by measuring oil incarnatus (2872 ind m~2) and high tide was represented
in the sediment" and the impact of oil spill can be wellby a low abundance of the polychaete, Saccocirrus sp.
evaluated through benthic fauna6. (22 ind m~2) and the isopod, Eurydice sp. (22 ind m~2). In
A total of 20 macrobenthic taxa were identified from Polem, Nemertean dominated in the high tide (265 ind m~2)
and mid tide (155 ind m~2) whereas low tide was domi
the intertidal area during the present study. The macro
invertebrates at Polem were dominated by Nemertean, nated by polychaetes (884 ind rrf2). Similarly, Agonda
followed by Polychaeta. Macropthalamus sp. (45%) (midand tide and low tide) clustered at 54% due to the pre
sence of the bivalves, D. spiculum in similar density
Pisione oerstedii (37.5%) were the most dominant poly
chaetes. In Agonda, crustaceans dominated the intertidal (552 ind m~2).
community. E. holthuisi was the most abundant in terms PHC content in the sediment was negatively correlated
of population counts and biomass. Juveniles of E. holthu with macrofaunal density. Though the present study did
isi dominated the population and contributed to >80%not ofshow direct impact of oil spill from MV Ocean
the total abundance. The mature E. holthuisi measured Seraya on the intertidal macrobenthic community, PHC
13-18 mm and fecundity ranged from 500 to [Link] Mostwere high (13 pig g"1) at the site closest to the spill
of the eggs were in early development (stages I and(Polem). II)12 Sediment-associated oil from major spills has
and did not show any abnormality. The major spawning been shown to persist in the marine environment for
of E. holthuisi extends from December to June, with a years, and can be re-released in potentially toxic concen
peak in March and supplementary minor peak in Octo trations15. Dauvin16 suggested that intertidal benthic com
ber13. As a result, individuals are being recruited almost munities are generally sensitive to oil spills, but the effects
throughout the year. However, the main recruitment pe of oil pollution strongly depend on the proportion of hy
riod along the Goan beaches appears to be during June drocarbon-sensitive species, especially crustaceans.
July13. Corroborating with earlier findings14, abundance While discussing the short- and long-term impact of oil

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 95, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2008 507

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Figure 5. Variation in PHC concentration (a) and vertical distribution of PHC (6) at Sinquerim-Calangute-Candolim.

Table 2. Macrofaunal abundance in the study area

Abundance (ind m 2)Biomass (g m~!) No. of species Dominant group

Polem 1635 0.99 9 Polychaeta

Agonda 7499 9.6 11 Nemertenia
Benaulim 6419 448 7 Bivalvia

spill from grounded MV Sea Transporter on the intertidal benthic organisms have planktonic larvae19. Generally,
meiobenthic communities, Ansari and Ingole17 indicated the effect of oil spills is first observed in the pelagic orga
that the short-term effect of oil spill was severe as most of An oil spill is not stationary in the water column. It
nism.
the microscopic organisms were eliminated from thespreads in over a larger surface area under the influence of
tertidal habitat. Strong wave action on the open beach winds
and (monsoonal or otherwise), during which it affects
manual beach cleaning by the local administration theaspelagic organisms.
sisted in reducing PHC content in the sediment. This re In contrast to the increase in oil consumption, resulting
sulted in faster recovery of meiobenthic [Link] increase in maritime transportation, incidents of acci
dental oil spill have shown a decrease globally since the
the other hand, while studying the impact of oil spill from
another grounded vessel, MV River Princess, Ingole et Tanker spills annually account for 12% of the oil
1970s.
entering the sea and a total of 531 spills have been re
al.6 demonstrated that relatively small-scale but persistent
oil spill not only reduced benthic standing stock (abun ported20 internationally from 1979 to 2004. Among the
dance and biomass), but also some of the oil-sensitive accidental tanker spills, 34.4% occurred due to grounding
species were eliminated. PHC concentration was high at of vessel and 28.3% due to collisions20. According to
the grounded site (Candolim) and the concentration in the Clarke21, most of the oil affecting the marine ecosystem
area showed further increase from 43 to 58 ng g~' (Figure is derived from tanker operations and accidents. However,
5 a). Increased PHCs in sediment was due to possible compared to the decrease in oil spills incidents globally,
leakage from the grounded MV River Princess vessel6. the number of tanker spills/accidents has increased along
Further, hydrocarbon values were highest in the sediment the Indian coast. Of the total observed spills, 70% were
depth of 6-8 cm (Figure 5 b). The macrobenthic commu reported from the west coast of India (Table 3; Figure 6
nity of Candolim showed a decrease from 27 (ref. 18) to and 7). Moreover, the data also revealed that majority
11 (ref. 6). of the spills occurred during the SW monsoon period.
The vulnerability of organisms to oil is related to sea Model studies, based on historical data of winds and
sonal changes in their distribution and abundance. Ac surface currents indicate that during the SW monsoon,
cordingly, for a particular species, spilled oil may have the along shore surface currents developed an easterly
less impact during one part of the year than the another. shoreward component22,23 resulting in rough weather
Monsoon is the recruitment period for most of tropical conditions. This makes the west coast vulnerable to any
benthic organisms and commercial fish. As is evident oil spills in the Arabian Sea during the SW monsoon. The
from the present study, major recruitment of E. Iiolthuisi spawning periodicity of majority of marine organisms
occurs during monsoon, as the Emerita population was and commercial fishes coincides with the monsoon sea
dominated by juveniles (>80%). More than 90% of the son so that their larvae could utilize the abundant plank

508 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 95, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2008

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Table 3. Major oil spills on the Indian coast since 1970

Date Quantity spilled (t) Position Vessel/other incidents

Aug '70 15,622/FO NW coast of India (off Kutch) Greek oil tanker Ampuria
Jun '73 18,000/LDO NW coast of India of the Arabian Sea MT Cosmos Pioneer
Sep '74 3325/FO Kiltan, Lakshadweep American oil tanker Transhuron
Jul '76 29,000 Off Mumbai Crestan Star
Jun '79 11,000 Cochin Aviles
1982 NK West coast Sagar Vikas
Oct '88 1000 Bombay Harbour, Maharashtra Lajpat Rai
1989 NK West coast SEDCO 252
Jun'89 5500 795 n mile SW of Mumbai MT Puppy
Aug '89 NK Bombay Harbour ONGC tanker
Aug '89 NK Saurashtra coast, Gujarat Merchant ship
Aug '89 NK Bombay Harbour NK
Mar '90 NK NW of Kochi, Kerala Merchant ship
Sep'91 692/FO Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu MT Jayabola
Nov '91 40,000/crude Bombay High, Maharashtra MT Zakir Hussain
Feb'92 Tanker wash Unknown
40 n mile south of New Moore Island, Bay of Bengal
Apr '92 1000/crude 54 n mile west of Kochi, Kerala MT Homi Bliabha
Aug '92 IO6O/SKO Madras Harbour, Tamil Nadu MT Albert Ekka
Nov '92 300/F0 Bombay Harbour, Maharashtra MV Moon River
Jan '93 40000 Off Nicobar Maersk navigator
Mar '93 NK/crude Off Narsapur, Andhra Pradesh ONGC rig, Kumarada
Apr '93 110/crude Bombay Harbour, Maharashtra MT Nand Shivchand
May '93 90/F0 Bhavnagar, Gujarat MV Celelia

May '93 6000/crude Bombay High, Maharashtra Riser pipe rupture

Aug '93 260/F0 Off New/Mangalore MV Challenge
Oct '93 90/crude Cochin Harbour, Kerala MT Nand Shivcliand

May '94 1600/crude Off Sac Romanto Innovative-1

May '94 -/FO 360 NM SW of Porbandar MV Stolidi

Jun '94 1025/crude Off Aguada Lighthouse, Goa MV Sea Transporter
Jul '94 lOO/FO Bombay Harbour, Maharashtra MV Maharshi Dayananad
Nov '94 288/HO Off Madras, Tamil Nadu MV Sagar
Mar '95 200/diesel Off Vizag, Andhra Pradesh Dredger Mandovi-2
Sep '95 -/FO Off Dwarka, Gujarat MC Pearl
Nov '95 Tanker wash Eliot beach, Chennai Unknown

May '96 370 FO Off Hooghly River MV Prem Tista

Jun'96 I20/F0 Off Prongs Lighthouse. Maharashtra MV Tupi Buzios
Jun'96 132/FO Off Bandra, Maharashtra MV Zhen Don
Jun'96 128/FO Off Karanja, Maharashtra MV Indian Prosperity
Jun '96 llO/FO Off Worli, Maharashtra MV Romanska
Aug '96 124/FO Malabar coast, Kerala MV Al-Hadi
Jan '97 Tank wash Kakinada coast, Andhra Pradesh Unknown
Jun '97 210/F0 Off Prongs Lighthouse, Maharashtra MV Arcadia Pride
Jun '97 NK Hooghly River, West Bengal MV Green Opal
Sep'97 Naptha, diesel petrol Vizag, Andhra Pradesh HPC refinery
Aug '97 70/F0 Off Mumbai, Maharashtra MV Sea Empress
Jun '98 20/crude Off Vadinar, Gujarat Vadinar, SBM
Jun '98 Off Porbandar, Gujarat Ocean barge
Jun '98 Off Veraval, Gujarat Ocean Pacific
Jul'98 15/FO Mul Dwarka, Gujarat Pacific Acadian
Jul'00 -

Off MV Prime Value

Sagar Islan
Sep'00 -

Off Fort MV River Princess

Aguada, G
Dec '00 1/FO Bombay Harbour, Maharashtra MV Stonewall Jackson
Jun'01 -
Vadinar, Gulf Not of known Kachchh
Jul'01 Hooghly River, West Bengal MV Lucnam
Aug '01 SBM Vadinar, Gujarat
Sep'02 220 n mile off Pt Calimare MV Hiderbahy
Apr '03 1.8/light crude oil 5 miles off Kochi, Kerala MT BR Ambedkar
May '03 145 FO Off Haldia, West Bengal MV Segitega Biru
Aug '03 300/crude oil ONGC rig (BHN), Maharashtra URAN pipeline
Feb '04 01/crude oil ONGC pipeline at MPT oil jetty Crude oil transfer
Oct '04 0.56 Berthed-MPT-8, Goa
Mar '05 110 Off Aguada Lighthouse, Goa MV Maritime Wisdom

(Contd)

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Table 3. (Could)

Date Quantity spilled (t) Position Vessel/other incidents

Jun '05 49,537/cargo and 640/F0 Vishakhapatnam Port MV Jinan VRWD-5

Jul'05 350 m3 base lube oil Mumbai Harbour Dumb barge Rajgiri
Jul'05 33/FO NE of Paget Island (N. Andaman) MV Edna Maria
Jul'05 80 Off Prongs Lighthouse, Off Mumbai OSV Samudra Suraksha
Aug '05 -

9 n mile MV 11DA
off Tuti
Sep '05 100 Off Visakhapatnam MV Royal Ocean 2
May '06 650/F0 Oyster rocks, Karwar MV Ocean Seraya
Aug '06 4500 Grear Nicobar Island Bright Artemis

FO, Fuel oil; HO, Heavy oil; NK, Not known.

compounds are produced28 and the peroxides induce mu

tation. Many of the commercial fishes exploit the near
shore area for spawning and development of sensitive
embryonic and larval stages. This could work against
these species when the area becomes contaminated with
toxic material such as oil. Survival through planktonic
development stages is believed to be the most important
event controlling the abundance of marine organisms.
Also the early stages of these species are vulnerable to
significant losses due to natural events and will be further
affected by anthropogenic disturbances like oil spills26.
1970-75 1976-80 1981-85 1986-90 1991-95 1995-00 2000-05
Benthos are the major food source for demersal fisher
Year
ies and benthic production shows strong seasonality.
Consequently,
Figure 6. Comparison of oil spill incidents in the world and Indian any impact on benthos will affect the
waters.
demersal fishery production of the area. Analysis of benthic
biomass distribution and demersal fish showed a positive
correlation and high biomass area was found supporting
0 West greater density of bottom fishes29.

11
ED East The marine fish landing for the year 2004 was 635,094
tonnes along the west coast contributing to about 73% of
the total marine fish catch of the country30. Fish catches
have increased considerably in the last few decades. How

I
ever, this has been attributed to mechanization and increase

1970-75 1976-80
E3 1
1986-90 1991-95 1996-00 2001-05
in the number of fishing trawlers as well as advancement
in gear technology31. Landings of major fishery resources
in the Indian Ocean region have declined significantly.
Year
Over-exploitation is attributed to be the main cause of
Figure 7. Comparison of oil spill incidents along the west and east
decline in fish catches worldwide, which may be further
coasts of India.
affected by increase in oil spill occurrence.
Significant changes in commercial fish stocks take
tonic food resulting from the seasonal upwelling24. There place in the inshore areas, although attempts are not usu
fore, oil spills occurring during the critical stage of theally made to link them with any single pollutant32. How
marine organisms may have a long-term impact on theever, oil spills could be one of the reasons for fluctuation
recruitment and population of the organisms. in total fish catch, as hydrocarbons can greatly reduce the
Increasing data are available regarding the susceptibi individual organism's chances of survival33 and accord
lity of early developmental stages to oil, especially at the
ingly, population changes are of potential concern. Ac
cellular and sub-cellular level, sometimes at substantially
cording to Mclntyre32, fisheries on the continental shelves
lower concentrations25. The cumulative impact of North are at a greater risk than those offshore, and this affects
Cape oil on winter flounder embryos was a reduction of the shallow coastal intertidal areas.
51% in the number of embryos surviving to the larval Apart from accidental spills, oil pollution occurs during
stage26. Naphthalene and phenanthrene, both light-weight routine operations such as loading, discharging and bun
PAHs, are among the most toxic fractions of oil27. When kering, which are normally carried out in ports or at oil
raw oil is exposed to sunlight, more persistent and toxicterminals. Concerns have arisen recently about the num

510 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 95, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2008

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The present study did not show any major impact17. ofAnsari, Z. A. and Ingole, B. S., Effect of an oil spill from MV Sea
Transporter on intertidal meiofauna at Goa, India. Mar. Pollut.
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relatively minor oil spills its coastal waters, primarilyIn Biology of Benthic Marine Organisms: Techniques and Meth
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RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

26. Hughes, J. B., Cytological - cytogenetic analyses of winter floun

Apoptosis is a genetically determined form of cell death
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Metwally, M. M. and Al-Ajimi, D., Subacute toxicity of the water the consequence of physical injury and does not
involve active participation of the cell. Apoptosis can be
soluble fractions of Kuwait crude oil and partially combusted
crude oil on Menidia beryllina and Palaemontes pugio. Arch. distinguished
En from necrosis on the basis of several mor
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28. Larson, R. A., Hunt, L. L. and Blankenship, D. W., Formation of
toxic products from a #2 fuel oil by photoxidation. Environ. Sci.
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TechnoL, 1977,11, 492-496. DNA fragmentation2, and phosphatidylserine exposure to
29. Harkantra, S. N., Nair, A., Ansari, Z. A. and Parulekar, A. H., the outer face of the plasma membrane3. This kind of cell
Benthos of the shelf region along the west coast of India. Indian J.
death avoids spillage of intracellular contents in contrast
Mar. Sci., 1980, 9, 106-110.
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30. Anon., Marine fish landings in India 1985-2004, Estimates and
Trends, CMFRI, Special Publication, 2006, p. 89.
ing and membrane disruption, resulting in an inflamma
31. Ansari, Z. A., Achuthankutty, C. T. and Dalai, S. G., Overexploi tory response3. The central executioners of apoptosis are
tation of fishery resources, with particular reference to Goa. In a set of cysteine proteases that are part of a large protein
Multiple Dimension of Global Environmental Change (ed. Sonak, family known as caspases4. Apoptosis is critically impor
S.), TERI Press, New Delhi, 2006, pp. 285-299.
tant to development, tissue homeostasis, and in the patho
32. Mclntyre, A. D., The macrofauna and meiofauna of some tropical
beaches. J. Zool. (London), 1968,156, 377-392.
genesis of various viral and bacterial diseases5.
33. Rosenthal, H. and Alderdice, D. F., Sublethal effects of environ The ability of Salmonella to promote apoptosis may be
mental stressors, natural and pollution, on marine fish eggs and important for the initiation of infection, bacterial survival
larvae. J. Fish. Res. Board Can., 1976, 33, 2047-2065. and escape of the host immune response5.
34. Sen Gupta, R., Singbal, S. Y. S. and De Souza, S. N., Marine pol
Flow cytometry is a simple and reproducible method
lution In Fish Curry and Rice: A Source Book on Goa, its Ecology
and Lifestyle (ed. Alvares, C ), The Goa Foundation, Mapusa,
useful for assessing apoptosis of specific cell populations.
Goa, 2002, p. 149. There are several methods that can be used to quantitate
35. Ingole, B. S., Indian Ocean coast, coastal ecology. In Encyclopeapoptosis by flow cytometry. The simplest method based
dia of Coastal Science (ed. Schwartz, M. L.), Springer, The Neth on biochemical changes includes use of propidium iodide
erlands, 2005, pp. 546-554.
(PI) to stain the DNA and look for the sub-diploid, or Ao
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We thank Dr Satish Shetye, Director,
population of cells from a cell cycle profile. Staining of
NIO, Goa for encouragement. We also thank Kishan, Christabelle,isolated nuclei with DNA-binding fluorescent dye PI
Sabyasachi and Abhishek for helping during the work. showed that intensity of fluorescence is correlated with
the extent of DNA degradation6. Flow cytometric analy
Received 29 November 2007; accepted 8 July 2008
sis of the apoptotic cell population can be carried out us
ing either single dye or a mixture of dyes.
Salmonella induces apoptosis in macrophages and den
Salmonella Typhimurium invasion drocytes through the caspase-1 pathway. In the present
study we have made an attempt to find whether Salmo
induces apoptosis in chicken embryo nella induces apoptosis in chicken embryo fibroblast
fibroblast (CEF). The isolates selected for the study were ML-4,
ML-7 and ML-5.

B. H. Jagadish and M. K. Saxena* Primary CEF culture was prepared. After 45 min of
bacterial infection to the fibroblast, the infected cells were
Animal Biotechnology Centre, Department of Veterinary Biochemistry,
washed
College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, G.B. Pant University of three times with PBS (7.4) and incubated in fresh
Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263 145, India tissue culture medium containing 100 jig of gentamicin/
ml for 30 min. Then the cells were washed with PBS twice,
Salmonella Typhimurium induces apoptosis in macro followed by trypsinization.
phages and intestinal epithelial cells. In the present For trypsinization, trypsin (0.1 ml/cm2 of 0.25% trypsin
study we report that it induces apoptosis in chicken in PBS) was added to the side of the flask opposite the
embryo fibroblast (CEF), by a scatter experiment cells.
us Then the flask was turned over and left stationary
ing flow cytometry. This finding makes CEF the best
for 15-30 s and all but a few drops of the trypsin was
model for molecular analysis of apoptosis induced by
withdrawn, making sure that the monolayer was not de
Salmonella, since culture and handling of CEF is more
tached. The cells were further incubated for 5-15 min
convenient than any other specialized cells.
with flask lying flat, until the cells rounded up when the
Keywords: Apoptosis, chicken embryo fibroblast, bottle
Sal was tilted and the monolayer was able to slide
monella Typhimurium. down the surface. At this stage of trypsinization, culture
medium (0.1-0.2 ml/cm2) was added and the cells were
*For correspondence, (e-mail: mumtesh@[Link]) dispensed by repeated pipetting over the surface bearing

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