Mortality of fish subjected to explosive shock as applied to oil well severance on Georges Bank

Abstract

A very extensive bibliography of papers on underwater explosions and their effects on marine life has been collected and summarized. When exposed to blast effects, vertebrates with swim bladders or lungs that contain gas are at least an order of magnitude more sensitive than other life. Regression analysis of several different experiments on explosive damage to fish has been combined with reports of fish concentrations and explosives used in oil well severance in order to estimate the probable extent of damage to fish populations from a limited number of severance explosions. Damage per explosion should not be significant and is probably considerably less than that caused by a one hour tow of a bottom trawl net.