Fish associated with subsea pipelines and their rock berms
Sean van Elden A * , Thomas Tothill A and Jessica J. Meeuwig AA Marine Futures Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 62 S362-S367 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21181
Accepted: 15 March 2022 Published: 13 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
The ecological role of subsea pipelines is an important factor in the consideration of decommissioning options. Several studies have assessed the marine communities associated with subsea pipelines on Australia’s North West Shelf (NWS), considering the influence of factors such as water depth, substrate type, pipeline diameter and pipeline position on fish assemblages. Less is known about the artificial rock berms used to stabilise pipelines. The Wandoo field on the NWS consists of an unmanned monopod and a concrete gravity structure, with three pipelines connecting these structures: a 4″ Gas Flowline, an 8″ Test Flowline and a 12″ Production Flowline. These pipelines are buried, exposed or span the seabed and are supported by rock berms at regular intervals. We present a novel frame-based, timed-count method to assess the fish communities associated with subsea pipelines utilising archival remotely operated vehicle footage that lacks geospatial data. We apply this approach to a pipeline in the Wandoo field to document variation in the fish assemblage with pipeline position (buried, exposed, span or covered by rock berm). Overall, diversity and abundance were higher on pipeline covered by rock berms than on the other pipeline positions. We hypothesise that rock berms are effectively artificial reefs, providing complex habitat structure and facilitating growth of macrobenthos communities that are associated with higher fish diversity. We demonstrate that rock berms can increase the ecological value of subsea pipelines and should therefore be a priority area for future ecological surveys.
Keywords: decommissioning, fish assemblages, North West Shelf, offshore infrastructure, platform ecology, remotely operated vehicles, rock berms, subsea pipelines.
Sean van Elden studied in South Africa where he received his Bachelor of Science (Marine Biology) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2013, and his Bachelor of Science Honours at Nelson Mandela University in 2014. After working at Nelson Mandela University, Sean moved to Australia and joined the Marine Futures lab at the University of Western Australia in 2016 as an image analyst. Sean completed his PhD in 2021, investigating the community structure of both benthic and pelagic species associated with offshore platforms, as a basis for future decommissioning decisions. Sean is currently continuing his research into the ecology of offshore infrastructure as a research fellow at the University of Western Australia. |
Thomas Tothill is a PhD Candidate at the University of Western Australia. As part of his Masters degree, Thomas undertook a research project analysing the vertical distribution of fish populations on two offshore oil platforms on Australia’s North West Shelf, as part of a collaboration between the University of Western Australia and Vermilion Oil and Gas Australia. Thomas’ area of interest lies in understanding the impacts of various decommissioning scenarios on demersal and pelagic fish population dynamics. |
Jessica Meeuwig is Director of the Marine Futures Lab at the University of Western Australia and is a Marine Ecologist focused on understanding the ecology of reef and open-ocean shark and fish assemblages and the way in which their status reflects anthropogenic impacts and management responses. She has expertise in a diverse repertoire of field and analysis techniques, from BRUVS (and pioneered the development of midwater systems), to acoustic and satellite tagging, trophic analyses, behavioural studies and predictive modelling. She has previously conducted research with Woodside and Chevron on the North West Shelf. |
References
Bond T, Langlois TJ, Partridge JC, Birt MJ, Malseed BE, Smith L, et al. (2018a) Diel shifts and habitat associations of fish assemblages on a subsea pipeline. Fisheries Research 206, 220–234.| Diel shifts and habitat associations of fish assemblages on a subsea pipeline.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bond T, Partridge JC, Taylor MD, Langlois TJ, Malseed BE, Smith LD, et al. (2018b) Fish associated with a subsea pipeline and adjacent seafloor of the North West Shelf of Western Australia. Marine Environmental Research 141, 53–65.
| Fish associated with a subsea pipeline and adjacent seafloor of the North West Shelf of Western Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cappo M, Harvey ES, Shortis M (2006) Counting and measuring fish with baited video techniques – an overview. In ‘Australian Society for Fish Biology Workshop Proceedings’. (Eds JM Lyle, DM Furlani, CD Buxton) pp. 101–114. (Australian Society for Fish Biology: Hobart, Tasmania)
Chamizo, DJ, Campbell, DR, Jas, EP, and Ryan, JR (2012). Rock berm design for pipeline stability. In ‘Proceedings of the International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering 3’, pp. 459–467.
| Crossref |
de Groot SJ (1982) The impact of laying and maintenance of offshore pipelines on the marine environment and the North Sea fisheries. Ocean Management 8, 1–27.
| The impact of laying and maintenance of offshore pipelines on the marine environment and the North Sea fisheries.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gass SE, Roberts JM (2006) The occurrence of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa (Scleractinia) on oil and gas platforms in the North Sea: colony growth, recruitment and environmental controls on distribution. Marine Pollution Bulletin 52, 549–559.
| The occurrence of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa (Scleractinia) on oil and gas platforms in the North Sea: colony growth, recruitment and environmental controls on distribution.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hudson IR, Jones DOB, Wigham DB (2005) A review of the uses of work-class ROVs for the benefits of science: lessons learned from the SERPENT project. Underwater Technology 26, 83–88.
| A review of the uses of work-class ROVs for the benefits of science: lessons learned from the SERPENT project.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kilfoil JP, Wirsing AJ, Campbell MD, Kiszka JJ, Gastrich KR, Heithaus MR, et al. (2017) Baited remote underwater video surveys undercount sharks at high densities: insights from full-spherical camera technologies. Marine Ecology Progress Series 585, 113–121.
| Baited remote underwater video surveys undercount sharks at high densities: insights from full-spherical camera technologies.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lingo ME, Szedlmayer ST (2006) The influence of habitat complexity on reef fish communities in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Environmental Biology of Fishes 76, 71–80.
| The influence of habitat complexity on reef fish communities in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Love MS, Shroeder DH, Nishimoto MM (2003) Ecological role of oil and gas production platforms and natural outcrops on fishes in southern and central California: a synthesis of information. U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Biological Re-sources Division, Seattle, Washington.
McLean DL, Partridge JC, Bond T, Birt MJ, Bornt KR, Langlois TJ (2017) Using industry ROV videos to assess fish associations with subsea pipelines. Continental Shelf Research 141, 76–97.
| Using industry ROV videos to assess fish associations with subsea pipelines.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Microsoft Corporation (2013) Microsoft Excel. Available at https://office.microsoft.com/excel
Rouse S, Lacey NC, Hayes P, Wilding TA (2019) Benthic conservation features and species associated with subsea pipelines: considerations for decommissioning. Frontiers in Marine Science 6, 200
| Benthic conservation features and species associated with subsea pipelines: considerations for decommissioning.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
SeaGIS Pty Ltd (2020) SeaGIS Pty, Ltd. Available at www.seagis.com.au [Accessed 24 April 2020]
Todd VLG, Williamson LD, Cox SE, Todd IB, Macreadie PI (2019) Characterizing the first wave of fish and invertebrate colonization on a new offshore petroleum platform. ICES Journal of Marine Science 77, 1127–1136.
| Characterizing the first wave of fish and invertebrate colonization on a new offshore petroleum platform.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Todd VLG, Lazar L, Williamson LD, Peters IT, Hoover AL, Cox SE, et al. (2020) Underwater visual records of marine megafauna around offshore anthropogenic structures. Frontiers in Marine Science 7, 230
| Underwater visual records of marine megafauna around offshore anthropogenic structures.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wedding LM, Friedlander AM, McGranaghan M, Yost RS, Monaco ME (2008) Using bathymetric lidar to define nearshore benthic habitat complexity: implications for management of reef fish assemblages in Hawaii. Remote Sensing of Environment 112, 4159–4165.
| Using bathymetric lidar to define nearshore benthic habitat complexity: implications for management of reef fish assemblages in Hawaii.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Zar JH (1999) ‘Biostatistical Analysis.’ (Pearson Education India)
