**7. Conclusion**

Marine oil spills can have a serious impact on marine life, as well as on the economic coastal activities and the communities that exploit the resources of the sea. Generally, the effects of oil toxicity depend on a multitude of factors, including the oil composition and characteristics (physical and chemical), condition (i.e., weathered or not), exposure routes and regimen, and bioavailability of the oil. Oil dispersants, which are a common tool used after oil spills, are also toxic and threaten pelagic and benthic organisms, as well as fish. Marine life can also be affected by clean-up operations or indirectly through the physical damage to the habitats in which plants and animals live. Communities that are threatened by marine oil spills have realized the risk and have, therefore, developed their own plans and policy issues to counteract the risk of marine oil contamination. Due to the different anthropogenic activities relating to oil spills, in addition to the natural environmental stresses of the Gulf, a number of socio-economic impacts are predicted. These are summarized by the threatening of the fish industry and desalination plants that supply most of the populations' freshwater for the Gulf region, in addition to the scuba diving tourism.
