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Coastal Resources
& the Marine Environment
Offshore oil and gas activities since 1969 have had
little measurable effect on the marine environment off
the California coast. Today a thriving marine environment
coexists with the coastal oil and gas industry. In fact,
a 6-year study by Dr. Milton Love of the University
of California at Santa Barbara titled “Marine
Habitats on Oil Platforms and Natural Outcrops in Offshore
California Waters” found platforms serving as
“artificial reefs” are beneficial to many
species of rockfish.
- The oil and gas industry, through the Minerals Management
Service, spends about $4 million annually in the Pacific
Region to fund research in physical oceanography,
biology, ecology and socioeconomics related to offshore
oil development.
- The California sea otter population was listed as
threatened in 1977, primarily as a result of industrial
activity in Northern California. The otter’s range
in central California now stretches from about Point
Ano Nuevo south to the Santa Maria River and the population
currently numbers more than 2,000.
- Acoustical pulses, or sound waves, are used in seismic
surveys during exploration for oil offshore. These
activities have not been shown to affect sea otter
behavior, even when the pulses have occurred less
than one mile away.
- The California oil and related industries maintain
a state-of-the-art sea otter facility at U.C. Santa
Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory on Monterey Bay. Opened
in 1994, this facility helps to protect the California
sea otter population from the effects of oil spills.
- Gray Whales migrate closest to shore and generally
pass through the Santa Barbara Channel during their
migration. Studies to date indicate offshore activities
do not appear to adversely affect the whale population
or their migration.
- The gray whale recently was removed from the endangered
species list. A field study of the reactions of migrating
gray whales to naturally occurring oil slicks from
seeps in the Santa Barbara Channel recorded mainly
subtle and short-term responses like changes in migration
direction.
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