In this study, inter-tidal cold-water sponge Halichondria panicea samples were exposed to Benzo-A-pyrene for 48h (accumulation phase) and then left to recover for 13 days in clean seawater (depuration phase). Tissue samples were collected at multiple time points during the accumulation phase to conduct qPCR targeting several genes of interest. Tissue samples were also collected during the accumulation and depuration phases to determine concentration of hydrocarbon in the sponge tissue. The files provided here detail (1) the hydrocarbon data determined by GC/MS analysis and (2) the sponge log fold change data for four genes of interest derived by qPCR.