Industry and the productivity of the Caspian Sea

Industry and the Productivity of the Caspian Sea The growing problem of the pollution of the Caspian Sea has recently aroused much concern in the USSR for it seems to be leading to a catastrophe. A chain reaction is being set up which will have consequences that are difficult to predict. Poisonous industrial waste has a disastrous effect on fish spawn and young; it ruins spawning and fattening grounds, restricts migration, causes sickness in fish and hinders fishing. It also reduces the reserves of the fishing industry and lowers the quality of the fish. In polluted waters the biological equilibrium is destroyed, and with it the self-purification processes which rely on the activities of bacteria, algae and protozoa. If pollution of the western part of the middle and southern Caspian Sea continues as it is now, the sea can be ,expected to be transformed into a dead sea, not only unsuitable for habitation by fish and other food animals, but also for the needs of technology. The information in this article about the effect of industrial pollution on the flora and fauna of the

Sumgait

~,,:: .enkoran

oTehran Fig. I. The Caspian Sea.

100

Azerbayan coast of the Caspian Sea was collected at the Hydrobiology Laboratory of the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbayan SSR between 1960 and 1969, with the assistance of A. D. Alley, G. M. Pyatakova, F. G. Badalov and G. B. Babaer.

Sources of pollution The scale of pollution of the Caspian Sea is considerable: each year it receives about 1 million tonnes of petroleum and petroleum products, 100,000 tonnes each of asphalt and sulphuric acid, and 10,000 tonnes of other substances toxic to aquatic organisms. In 1963 the total volume of waste waters discharged from the petroleum industry into the Caspian amounted to 619,000 m 3 each 24 h. In the same year 160,000 m of unpurified water containing up to 60,000 tonnes of petroleum were discharged into the sea by the petroleum refining installations alone. The total volume of waste waters was 243 million m 3 (Kasymov, 1965). An important contribution to pollution is made by natural and artificial seepages which discharge large quantities of petroleum to the surface of the water. Seepages are particularly numerous in coastal areas around the islands of the Apshevonskii and Bakinskii archipelagos. For example, around Neftyanye Kamni Island seepages have been formed in thirty-seven boreholes, many of which have been active for 2 years. In all, 500 tonnes of petroleum are discharged every 24 h as a result of the activity of seepages. The Caspian Sea is also polluted by ships of the Caspian Steamship Line, the Caspian tanker fleet (Kaspnefteflot) and fishing vessels. Each day these ships discharge into the sea more that 900,000 m 3 of water containing about 100 m g / l . of petroleum products. Other causes of pollution are the pumping out of bilge from tankers with the resultant discharge of fuel oil into the sea; underground repairs to boreholes, and accidental breakage of petroleum pipelines. The sea is also polluted by clay mortars and other solid muds which are used in the drilling of boreholes. Clay mortars contain substances which are extremely toxic for aquatic organisms, for example, sulphites, soda ash, caustic soda and alcohol wash. Thirty-six sewer outlets discharge more than 300,000 m 3 of unpurified domestic waste into the Bakinskaya Inlet. Sewage discharged from the drainage systems of the coastal town of Baku passes through the mechanical purification plant at a rate of 1.3 m3]s (113,000 m3/24 h). In addition 23,000 m 3 of untreated industrial effluent are discharged every 24 h into the Bakinskaya Inlet. Whatever the effect of these other discharges, pollution of the Azerbayan coast is principally due to petroleum and waste water from the chemical and petroleum refining industries. They have seriously polluted the most productive zones of the Azerbayan coastal waters and have brought about changes in established biocenoses and migration routes of fish. Where pollution is particularly severe the surface of the sea is covered with a thick layer of petroleum products and the substratum is impregnated with petroleum and various petroleum products. Moreover, with the output of petroleum from Azerbayan increasing, further pollution can be expected. Because of this increase in marine petroleum production, and because the industry is not very enlightened, by the end of this century the Caspian Sea will [lave lost irreversibly its value as a productive source of fish. Chemical effects In polluted areas around Sumgait the concentration of ammoniacal nitrogen at the time of the investigation was 650 mg/1. - seven times the maximum perr/fissible con-

cenlxation (M_PC) -- and of phosphates and nitrites, 47 rag[1, and 44 mg/1., respectively. The oxidizability of the water (standard 3.0 mg/1.) was 26 mg[1. and the concentration of oxygen had been reduced to 0.4 mg/1. The concentration of iron was 3.38 rag/1. (MPC = 0.5 mg/1.), and of petroleum products and phenols (MPC of the latter = 0.001 rag/1.), 27.0 mg/1. and 0.08 mg/1., respectively. Again, although the MPC for naphthenic acid is 0.3 rag/1., off Sumgait its concentration was 4.2 rag/1. In the Neftyanye Kamni region the concentration of petroleum products had reached 46.0 mg/1., and in the Bakinskaya Inlet, 200-300 m from the shore, the concentration was 143 rag/1, at the surface and 148 mg/1. in the benthic zones. These significant increases have led to a slowing down of biological processes, a breakdown of biological links, destruction of established biocenoses and destruction of highly productive feeding grounds for fish.

region was 63.4 mg/m 3 compared with 195.5 mg/m 3 in the unpolluted area of Lenkoran. TABLE 2. Changes in the biomass (in g/m 3) of phytoplankton in the western part of the South Caspian Sea in 1962 and 1969 Section Cape Shikhovo Cape Alyaty Cape Byandovan

J u n e 1962 J u n e 1969 Polluted zone 0.9 0.2 1.7 0.1 1.8 0.5

Mean value

1.5

0.3

Reduction of benthic fauna Reduction of phytoplankton

There has also been a reduction in the amount of phytoplankton. For example, the mean biomass of phytoplankton in J u n e 1962 was 8.7 g/m 3, while in J u n e 1969 it was 2.1 g/m 3 (Tables 1 and 2). This reduction was principally due to a decrease in the amount of diatoms. Between 1962 and 1969 the biomass of these organisms decreased from 5.7 g/m 3 to 1.8 g/m 3. The sharp drop in the biomass of p h y t o p l a n k t o n in the western part of the southern Caspian was due to continuous pollution by petroleum and petroleum products. The primary production of photosynthesis by phytoplankton varied in the western part of the middle Caspian from 0.53 g/m 2 to 6.33 g/m 2 and in the western part of the southern Caspian from 1.6 g/m 2 to 6.7 g/m 2 • I n shallow polluted areas of the Artem-Byandovan region, the primary production of photosynthesis was always six to ten times less than at stations away from the coast. Nevertheless, the amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon in these polluted sectors were normal.

TABLE 1. Changes in the n u m b e r of species and biomass (in g/m 3) of phytoplankton in the western part of the South Caspian Sea June 1962 Phytoplankton

Number of

(algae)

species

June 1969

Biomass Number of

Biomass

species

Blue-green

13

0.1

Golden Diatoms

1 42

0.0002 5.7

22

5

Peridinians Euglenoidina

2.9 0.007 0.03

10 -

Green

11 1 6

3

---

Total

74

8.73

40

2.1

-1.8

0.3

Reduction of zooplankton I n industrially polluted areas a reduction in the biomass

of zooplankton was also observed. Where pollution was most severe, for example, around the coast of Sumgait and in the Bakinskaya Inlet, there were no mature zooplankton organisms. A few organisms were found between the centre of the inlet and Nargen Island; these organisms enter the inlet from the sea, b u t are killed before attaining sexual maturity. Zooplankton was also very poor on the western c o a s t of the middle and southern Caspian; in 1959 the a v e r a g e b i o m a s s of zooplankton in the polluted Shikhov

Because of severe pollution of the western coast of the southern Caspian the total and mean biomasses of benthic fauna here are decreasing yearly. These decreases are entirely due to the effect of pollution on bivalve molluscs, especially Mitilaster. Bivalves live primarily in coastal areas at depths of up to 50 m and axe important to the benthic productivity of the Caspian Sea. Between 1961 and 1969 the mean biomass of zoobenthos along the polluted western coast of the southern Caspian had decreased from 507.27 g/m 2 to 28.09 g/m 2 -- a reduction factor of 760 (Table

3).

The sharp decrease in the biomass of benthic fauna characteristically occurred at depths of 10 and 25 m (Table 4); that is, in coastal areas where constant pollution occurs. For example, in 1961 the mean biomass of benthic fauna was 414.27 g/m 2 at 10 m while in 1969 it was 50.97 g/m 2 ; at 25 m the mean biomass was 1724.16 g/m 2 in 1961 and 20.65 g]m 2 in 1969 - reduction factors of 8 and 82, respectively. Reduction of the amount of benthic fauna was primarily observed in the former breeding grounds of the c h a s t i k i * and sturgeon which lie at a depth of 10-25 m. At present there are no fish in the most severly polluted areas because there is insufficient food for them. Reduction of fish reserves

During the past 35 years catches of fish in the Caspian Sea have decreased from 300 million kg (excluding herring which were not caught at the time) to 110 million kg (of which 100 million were herrings). Factors contributing to this catastrophic situation were: a drop in sealevel, hydroelectric power installations on the rivers Volga and Kura, and most significantly, industrial pollution. During this period catches of large c h a s t i k i , roach and slid decreased on average by a factor of 9. In 1964 the numbers of bream and carp were three times less, of sild seven times less, of roach twelve times less, and of pike twenty times less than in 1930. The decline in catches of sturgeon and salmon and other fish in the Azerbayan region during this period can be seen in Table 5. Shoals of sea pike ( L u c i o p e r c a ) which at one time provided catches of up to 750,000 kg have been almost completely wiped out by discharges f~om the petroleum industry at Neftyanye Kamni. According to the Central Scientific Research Council of the Fishing Industry, due to contraction of fattening grounds for fish in the middle and southern Caspian, the losses of sturgeon now amount to more than 5 million kg per year. If pollution on this scale continues sturgeon and slid will soon be completely wiped out and the value of the Caspian Sea to the fishing industry will be reduced to zero. * This includes the large chastiki -- saoan, bream, pike, sheat fish and the small c h a s t i k i - chekhon, sopa and crucian carp. 101

T A B L E 3. Changes in t h e m e a n b i o m a s s (in g / m 2 ) of b e n t h i c f a u n a in the p o l l u t e d zones of t h e w e s t e r n p a r t of the S o u t h Caspian Sea Organisms 1961

Shikhovo

Alyaty

Byandoran

Mean Value

Worms and chironomid larvae

6.72

12.61

1.56

6.81

Molluscs (including Mitilaster)

13.7

411.2 404.5

1053.4 1053.1

492.7 485.9

5.85

9.99 9.96

7.45 7.42

7.76 5.97

26.27

433.80

1062.41

507.27

Worms and chironomid larvae

5.20

2.24

t.74

3.06

Molluscs (induding Mitilaster)

11.03

14.06 1.7

22.46 2.52

15.85 1.41

1.0 0.7

9.61 6.35

6.94 2.62

9.18 3.22

17.23

25.91

31.14

28.09

-

Crustaceans (including crabs) Total 1969

Crustaceans (including crabs) Total

TABLE 4. Changes due to industrial p o l l u t i o n in the b i o m a s s (in g]m 2) of b o t t o m f a u n a at various d e p t h s Depth 1961 Worms and chironomid larvae

10m

25 m

50m

100m

3.3

12.7

3.4

3.4

Molluscs(includingMitilaster)

402.8 324.5

1698.9 1629.6

24.56 23.5

4.7

Crustaceans (including crabs)

8.17 8.12

12.56 11.0

4.24 0.06

2.18

414.27

1724.16

32.20

10.28

Total 1969

Worms and chironomid larvae

1.8

6. 7

4.0

2.0

Molluscs (including Mitilaster)

44.4 2.16

6.6 0.6

40.3 0.68

5.3

Crustaceans (including crabs)

4.77 4.68

7.35 7.35

11.15 1.85

12.58

50.97

20.65

55.45

19.88

Total

"FABLE 5. Catches o f f i s h (in kg) in t h e A z e r b a y a n region b e t w e e n 1931 a n d 1964. Years 1931-35 1936-40 1941-45 1946-50 1951-55 1956-60 1961-64

102

Sild

Herring

Roach

Large chastiki

Small chastiki

Sturgeon

Salmon

Total

14,350 9,000 8,150 6,000 5,850 4,600 1,650

500 900 1,200 1,350 16,800 13,350 19,350

2,550 1,600 550 350 400 600 500

8,650 3,850 3,300 2,800 2,350 1,800 1,250

550 350 250 300 600 100 50

2,100 1,950 800 1,300 1,150 850 350

100 100 50 100 50 5 5

28,800 17,750 14,300 12,200 27,200 21,305 23,155

Preventive measures To protect the Caspian from pollution the following measures must be taken. First, purification units must be installed in all plants, factories and works which discharge waste waters into the Caspian Sea or River Kura. Second, war must be waged on natural and artificial seepages in the sea. Third, discharge into the sea of clay mortars, various solid muds (barytes, baematite and so on) and additives to them (caustic soda, soda ash, sulphite and alcohol wash) used in petroleum drilling must be prohibited. Fourth, pollution of the sea by stratum waters and waters used in drilling operations must be prohibited. Fifth, the possibility of pollution of the sea during underground repairs to boreholes, accidental rupture of petroleum pipelines, pumping out of bilge and discharge of fuel oil into the sea must be prevented. Sixth, drainage-trap units and tailings

reservoirs must be introduced in the petroleum and chemical industries. Finally, the Caspian Steamship Line, Kaspnefteflot and the Fisheries Board must be prohibited from discharging into the sea the bilge of petroleum tankers, barges and vessels which run on petroleum fuel. Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbayan SSR, Baku, USSR.

A . G . Kasymov

Kasymov, A. G. (1965) Effect of the pollution of water masses by waste waters on the present day fishing industry of the Caspian Sea and basin of the River Kura (Russian), in 'Tret'e Zakavkazskoe soveschanie povoprosam okhrani prirody'. (Third Transcaucasian meeting on questions of conservation) Tbilisi.

Effects of Radiation on Estuarine Organisms Radioactivity released into estuarine and marine environs so far has not caused noticeable damage to organisms, or alterations in aquatic ecosystems, except near nuclear bomb test sites. Slight changes in ecosystems or long term effects on populations may have been undetected, however, because of the difficulties of measuring such changes. Regardless of consequences in the past, the continuing expansion of the nuclear power industry adds a degree of uncertainty to predictions of the effects of future discharges of radioactivity. The predicted increase in the use of nuclear power would increase radionuclide concentrations in the aquatic life. A complete understanding of the effects of ionizing radiation on estuarine organisms is needed for the realistic management and radiobiological monitoring of estuarine systems near nuclear powered plants. In an estuary, temperature and salinity largely characterize the physical and chemical properties of the water, and to a large extent determine the species diversity. Estuarine organisms, which are both poikilothermic and euryhaline, are constantly engaged in a physiological struggle to maintain their internal environment with respect to their changing surroundings. When an additional stress, such as increased radioactivity, is introduced into the system the interactions between existing factors can act antagonistically or synergistically on the organisms present. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Center for Estuarine and Menhaden Research, ,ander the joint sponsorship of the US Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Atomic Energy Commission is engaged in estuarine radioecological research. The purpose of the research is to understand the fate (cycling) of radionuclides in the estuarine environment, and the effects of the radioactivity on the estuarine organisms. Our research programme on the effects of radioactivity is concerned with the effects of the interactions of ionizing radiations with other environmental factors on the viability of specific marine and estuarine organisms. Although our primary goal is to understand the effects of environmental levels of radioactivity on estuarine species, most of our investigations have been concerned with large doses of external radiation. There are several reasons for this course of action. First, radiation sensitivities can be determined rapidly and used to define lethal and sub-lethal doses needed for various experiments; second, the effects of high doses are readily observed and must be determined before the more subtle effects of

environmental levels of radioactiviW can be understood; and third, external irradiation is easily controlled and measured. Our investigations of the effects of radiation on estuarine organisms has two facets. First we are determining how single acute doses of ionizing radiation affect the survival, growth and physiological balance of estuarine organisms. Whenever possible, experiments were designed to show the effects on the organisms of interactions of radiation, temperature, and salinity. Second, we are concerned with the effects of continuous low level irradiation of estuarine organisms. These investigations are being conducted on individual organisms and populations of single and mixed species. Although the radiation levels used in these long term experiments are fairly low, they are still well above environmental levels. R a d i a t i o n sensitivities and LD s 0

We have found that broad generalizations pertaining to the sensitivities of estuarine organisms to radiation are not meaningful unless the sensitivities are determined in the same experimental conditions. A wide range of radiation sensitivities (LDs0s) have been reported for marine and estuarine species (White and Angelovic, 1966; Engel, in the press). Unfortunately, the conditions of irradiation and maintenance were not always the same, and therefore, even though the comparisons are often between closely related species, they may not reflect the true differences in sensitivities. In general, animals within a taxonomic group are assumed to have similar radiation sensitivities. When the relative sensitivities of two decapod crustaceans were compared in identical conditions, however, the 40 day LDsos for the grass shrimp, Palaemonetespugio, was 215 rads and for the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, it was 42,000 rads (Engel, in the press). These data show that within the decapod crustaceans there can be as much difference in radiation sensitivity as there is between phyla. Salinity and Temperature

We have used radiation as an environmental factor to determine the median lethal dose, LDs0, for various estuarine organisms, using three variables -- salinity, temperature, and radiation. We found that the LDsos of euryhaline, poikilothermic organisms are dependent on the combination of environmental factors present (Angelovic, White, and Davis, 1969). For example, the median lethal dose for the mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus, is 6.5 103