Workshop Oil-fish 2016; Effect of oil exposure on early life stages of sub-Arctic marine fish. Assembling toxicology, analytical chemistry

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Oil companies are currently extending their search for new oil deposits to greater ocean depths and to higher latitudes, including the sea areas around the Lofoten Islands of northern Norway, the Barents Sea, and the Atlantic Arctic. These areas are, however, considered to be especially vulnerable, since they are crucial spawning and larval-drift areas for several commercially important species of marine fish, including haddock, cod and herring. Accordingly, there is a need for more research that can provide knowledge on the long-term effects of releases from off-shore petroleum activities. To generate trustworthy risk assessment models it is highly important to build on empirical observations both in the parameterization and not at least in the validation of the model. In the Oil-haddock project we have generated experimental fitness data to assess the chronic toxicity during early life stages of haddock. Using state-of-the-art genomics tools, the project have also generated new data on the toxicological mechanism driving the very high sensitivity of oil pollution that are observed in early life stages of fish. The main aim of the workshop is to improve existing risk assessment modeling and during the meeting we shall secure that all the necessary data (effects data, larvae and oil distribution) are present and that the different modeling tools are in place. In addition, international participant will ensure that the development of baseline data and model code are in line with best practices. The Workshop shall encourage continuation of the collaboration between IMR, CEES, NIFES, NIVA, MET and SINTEF, some of the leading research institutes within marine biology/toxicology/genomics in Norway, together with NOAA, USA and University of Plymouth, UK, merging several scientific disciplines, including ecotoxicology, embryology, genomics, analytical chemistry, oceanography, and risk assessment.