12 December 2024 – Our latest research conducted at the Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Norway exploring the impacts of methods used for subsea oil exploration on the early life stages of fish was just published in Marine Pollution Bulletin (see below)!
Controlled-source electromagnetics (CSEM) uses low-frequency (0.1–10 Hz) electromagnetic fields to discover oil reservoirs laying underneath the sea floor. This source of anthropogenic electromagnetic fields could impact marine fishes, which are sensitive to weak magnetic fields since the larval stages.
In this study led by Claire Guillebon and coordinated by Caroline Durif, we demonstrate that exposure to CSEM’s electromagnetic fields causes tachycardia and reduces the yolk sac reserves of newly hatched larvae of Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) – an ecologically and commercially key species of the North Sea. These physiological effects were visible at lowest electromagnetic intensities used in the study (corresponding to 1000m from the source), and could cause downstream impacts on haddock survival in the wild.
Guillebon, C., P. Perrichon, H.I. Browman, A. Cresci, L. Doksæter Sivle, A.B. Skiftesvik, G. Zhang & C.M.F. Durif. 2025. Effects of anthropogenic electromagnetic fields used for subsurface oil and gas exploration (controlled-source electromagnetics, CSEM) on the early development of Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus). Marine Pollution Bulletin 211, February 2025, 117425, doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117425.
Read the paper