Metabolic Responses of Fish Following Exposure to Two Different Oil Spill Remediation Techniques

To assess the impacts of two oil spill remediation techniques on fish metabolism, change in aerobic and anaerobic enzyme activities in juvenile Australian Bass, Macquaria novemaculeata, was examined. Changes in cytochrome C oxidase (CCO) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities were investigated following exposure to the crude oil water accommodated fraction (WAF) and chemically dispersed crude oil WAF. There was a significant stimulation in CCO activity in the gills and livers of fish exposed to the WAF of Bass Strait crude oil and chemically dispersed crude oil, compared to the control treatment. In addition, LDH activity was significantly stimulated in the liver of fish exposed to dispersed crude oil WAF, compared to the crude oil WAF. Fish exposed to the dispersed crude oil WAF treatment had significantly higher oxygen consumption, as measured by oxygen depletion in a sealed chamber, than fish exposed to the crude oil WAF and control treatments.