Impacts of crude oil on freshwater fish fauna, its control and management measures

Abstract

Crude oil or petroleum is a complex liquid mixture of hydrocarbons,  though a major source of revenue for Nigeria contaminates water through sources such as oil spills and refinery effluents. The impacts of crude oil or petroleum are many and have been enumerated in this review work to include-necrosis of the gut, histopathological changes in liver and gills, reduced feeding and growth, general intoxication, hyperglycaemia, hypoglycaemic response and death. Control measures suggested include strict supervision of loading and off-loading of oil tankers, repairing of oil pipelines and damaged tankers, placing stringent measures on oil and oil-related industries and oil refineries conducting assays to assess the effect of refinery effluents on aquatic life. This work concludes by indicating that oil in water is lethal leading to  impairment of fish physiology. As a result, mortality increases and fishery resources decrease.

Keywords: Crude oil, Petroleum, Kerosene, Freshwater fish