Oil spill impacts on mangroves: Recommendations for operational planning and action based on a global review Norman C. Duke ⁎ James Cook University, TropWATER Centre, Townsville, QLD, Australia abstract article info Article history: Received 6 January 2016 Received in revised form 20 June 2016 Accepted 22 June 2016 Available online 1 July 2016 Mangrove tidal wetland habitats are recognised as highly vulnerable to large and chronic oil spills. This review of current literature and public databases covers the last 6 decades, summarising global data on oil spill incidents affecting, or likely to have affected, mangrove habitat. Over this period, there have been at least 238 notable oil spills along mangrove shorelines worldwide. In total, at least 5.5 million tonnes of oil has been released into man- grove-lined, coastal waters, oiling possibly up to around 1.94 million ha of mangrove habitat, and killing at least 126,000 ha of mangrove vegetation since 1958. However, there were assessment limitations with incomplete and unavailable data, as well as unequal coverage across world regions. To redress the gaps described here in reporting on oil spill impacts on mangroves and their recovery worldwide, a number of recommendations and suggestions are made for refreshing and updating standard operational procedures for responders, managers and researchers alike. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mangroves Oil spills Impacts Pollution Monitoring Risk management Standard operational procedure recommendations Marine Pollution Bulletin 109 (2016) 700–715 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: norman.duke@jcu.edu.au. Figure frontispiece. Shipping accidents cause most oil spills that threaten mangrove and tidal wetland habitats, as with the 2007 oil spill in Port Curtis, Queensland, Australia. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.082 0025-326X/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Marine Pollution Bulletin journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul