On the hypothesis of a relationship between dinoflaggelate blooms and the ‘Amoco-Cadiz’ Oil spill

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Abstract
Dinoflagellate blooms occurred repeatedly along the coasts of France in 1978, and the question was raised, both in newspapers and in the report of the Inquiry Committee of the French Senate on the ‘Amoco-Cadiz’ disaster, of a possible relationship between these occurrences and the oil spilled from the tanker. This hypothesis does not, however, appear to be supported by the data regarding bloom occurrences. These are listed in Table 2, compiled from various sources. Those which concern Brittany and nearby areas, as well as the extent of coast fouled by the ‘Amoco-Cadiz’ oil, are shown in Fig. 2. It is clear from this map that some of the ‘red tide’ occurrences were quite remote from the site of the wreck at Portsall; those outside the area shown in Fig. 2 (e.g. Seine Estuary) were, of course, even more so.