Hobbies And Interests
Bluefin Tuna
The BP oil spill began at the peak of the bluefin tuna's spawning season. According to the World Wildlife Fund, bluefins are highly endangered. Overfishing has claimed 80 percent of the total population since 1975. Bluefins spawn in only two locations: the Gulf of Mexico close to the spill, and the Mediterranean Sea. Data collected by the European Space Agency reveals that 20 percent of the juveniles in the 2010-year class of Atlantic bluefins died in the spill. The loss puts the species further away from recovery and closer to extinction.
Whale Sharks
The whale shark, a 40-foot predator and the largest fish in the gulf, skims the surface of the water with its 4-foot-wide mouth, feeding on everything in its path. The international body that tracks species' viability has listed the whale shark as vulnerable. In the weeks following the spill, the sharks swam through oiled water. Scientists at the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Lab are concerned about the oil these fish ingested both directly and through tainted prey. However, the greater worry is that oil clogged their gills and compromised their respiratory systems.
Fin Rot and Liver Disease
At different institutions along the Gulf Coast, scientists are investigating a spike in cases of fin rot, lesions, enlarged gall bladders and liver damage in common species such as red snapper, triggerfish and flounder. Louisiana State University oceanographer James Cowan and others believe the fish are showing signs of weakened immune systems caused by swallowing toxic oil. Other researchers say more study is needed to tie the sicknesses to the BP spill. However, Cowan believes the timing of the outbreak and the location of the sick fish is not coincidental.
Shellfish
Oyster farms in Louisiana lost most of their stock in the wake of the BP oil spill. The shellfish, which need saltwater to survive, died not from the oil, but from fresh water released from the Mississippi River to drive the crude oil away from the coast. However, oil has been found in blue crab larvae, and shrimp boats that were forced to stay tied to the docks for months during the spill and cleanup are now pulling up catches coated in oil.
Future Threats
To control the oil spill, BP dumped nearly 2 million gallons of chemical dispersant into the gulf. The dispersant breaks the oil into tiny drops that sink below the surface where they are consumed by bacteria. That process depletes the oxygen in the water and makes it a death zone for fish. Scientists believe that many types of fish also ingested the small drops of crude oil, either directly as the drops floated in the water column or indirectly because the drops of oil were stuck to plankton. The chief concern is that the dispersant has ushered the oil into the food web where it could pose risks for all types of fish in the gulf for years.