Oil Spills Impact and Toxicological Stress on Fisheries-Dependent Livelihoods in the Coastal and Marine Environment: Implications for the Blue Economy (Published)
Several oil spills have occurred offshore, within shallow waters and around the riverine areas of the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Spill response procedures and emergencies are often triggered when oil spill incidents happen with the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources, now NUPRC and NOSDRA called to action. Often, this is in compliance with statutory environmental regulations, that requires ‘an operator responsible for a spill to conduct an Environmental Evaluation (Post Impact) Study of any adversely impacted environment in accordance with Article 2.0 of the EIA guidelines’ in Part VIII-A. The guidelines so appertaining are, however, short of consideration for the human (socioeconomic) environment. Professional practice and compliance with due diligence have often compelled the consideration of the socioeconomic aspect. This has become unavoidable as the coastal communities and population which may have experienced some impacts continue to put pressure on the regulating body, particularly NOSDRA to live up to its responsibilities. Post impact assessments of oil spill incidents have revealed that fisheries livelihood has always almost been affected around fish catch, income reduction and toxicological impact as fish products become contaminated and those caught not fit for consumption. Without laboratory investigation, many are tempted to discountenance the claims made by fishers on the toxicological effect of oil spills on coastal and marine fisheries products. Nonetheless, this paper put forward occasions where these perceptions have prevailed, aided by visuals of toxic fisheries contamination. Three incidents of such investigations are reported are presented here.
Keywords: Niger-Delta, fisheries livelihoods, oil spills, post-impact assessments, toxicological impact