Gulf Oil Spill Worsens: Fisheries To Suffer Long Term Economic Impact
Rowan Gould, acting director of the U.S
Rowan Gould, acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said this week: "The Gulf oil spill is significant and it will affect fish and wildlife resources ... for years, if not decades".
To date, 165 sea turtles, mostly the endangered Kemp's Ridley,have been found stranded along the coastline, according to Steve Murawski, director of scientific programs and chief science adviser for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries service.
Gould added they have also located 12 bottle nose dolphins and 35 soiled birds, of which 23 were dead.
"This is just the beginning of what's most certainly going to have a devastating economic impact on the Gulf fisheries" one environmental observer noted.
Igor Kamenkovich, associate professor at the Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami said: "I think the threat to South Florida is real and we should get ready,'' he continued ''It's hard to predict but if it gets in the loop current, it can happen as quickly as seven to 10 days and if it does happen, it's bad news for all of us.''
And getting worse:
The United States Tuesday closed off a large chunk of the Gulf of Mexico to fishing as fears the Gulf oil spill could be swept to Florida's beaches and coral reefs.
The closure, totaling 45,728 square miles is around 19 percent of the Gulf's federal waters.
This closure was announced as politicians in Washington raged over over what went wrong.
This week British Petroleum blamed Transocean, the world's largest offshore drilling company, for the explosion that killed 11 Deep water Horizon rig workers April 20, during Congressional hearings for the environmental catastrophe.
As the war in Washington continues, the blame game is of little concern to fishermen in the Gulf region who are more concerned with the 200,000 gallons of oil a day that continues to contaminate the Gulf fisheries everyday.
It's not just the worry of tomorrows fishing, they're thoughts are on the future of Gulf fishing.
Robert Shipp, chairman of the Marine Sciences Department at the University of South Alabama explained, "The Gulf oil spill may threaten wildlife and seafood production in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas resulting in lower catches of poor quality food"
Just Louisiana's marshy coastline extends 15,000 miles, according to its Department of Natural Resources. "Our marshes are nurseries and if those marshes are impacted, those juveniles that are dependent on feeding in those marshes will be affected too".
Those species include shrimp, oysters, crab,and game fish that have made Louisiana famous for seafood lovers and commercial fisheries.
"Without the nurseries, fishing in the Gulf will take years to recover, our hope is local fishing contractors will be able to weather the storm"
The true economic impact of the Gulf oil spill catastrophe will be felt for years to come. What the true impact will be on the environment is left to be determined.
by: Thomas Palmieri
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