Estimating the impact of petroleum substances on survival in early life stages of cod (Gadus morhua) using the Dynamic Energy Budget theory

• We applied DEB to extrapolate mortality impacts of petroleum substances.
• We analysed literature data to estimate cod specific DEB-parameters.
• We explored the use of Fathead minnow DEB-parameters as surrogate for cod.
• We recommend experimental studies on mortality in early life stages of cod.

To estimate the impact of accidental oil-spills on cod fisheries a model framework is developed in which a Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model is applied to assess mortality caused by petroleum substances in early life stages. In this paper we report on a literature search and DEB analyses, aiming for cod specific DEB-parameters. Furthermore, we explored the relevance of Fathead minnow DEB-parameters as surrogate by comparing LC50 values calculated from DEB-parameters with literature. Cod specific DEB-parameters could not be estimated based on available literature. LC50 values calculated from Fathead minnow DEB-parameters were higher than literature LC50 for early life stages of fish. Applying an extrapolation factor of 50 to the DEB-parameters resulted in LC50 values that were below literature irrespective of life stage. Therefore, we propose to use the last as an estimate for early life stages in cod and recommend relevant experiments with individual petroleum substances on cod.