Inter Press Service
By Dahr Jamail
(original article here)
Dead fish wash up at Port Fourchon,
Louisiana.
Credit:Erika Blumenfeld/IPS
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi, U.S., Aug 26, 2010 (IPS) - Another massive
fish
kill, this time in Louisiana, has alarmed scientists, fishers and
environmentalists who believe they are caused by oil and dispersants.
On Aug. 22, St. Bernard Parish authorities reported a huge fish kill at
the
mouth of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
"By our estimates there were thousands - and I'm talking about 5,000 to
15,000 - dead fish," St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro told
reporters.
"Different species were found dead, including crabs, sting rays, eel,
drum, speckled trout, red fish, you name it, included in that kill."
The next day, a thick, orange substance with tar balls and a "strong
diesel smell" was discovered around Grassy Island, near the fish kill,
according to a news release.
Taffaro admitted that there was oil in the area, but cautioned against
assuming
it was the cause of the fish kill.
Dr. Ed Cake, a biological oceanographer, as well as a marine and oyster
biologist,
has "great concern" about this fish kill, and many others in recent
weeks, which he feels are likely directly related to the BP oil
disaster.
"As a scientist, my belief is that this fish kill is 75 percent likely
due
to hypoxic conditions, not enough oxygen in the water to sustain life,"
Dr. Cake said. "Because it was both bottom dwelling fish and crab, and
other fish from the middle of the water column, whatever caused this
covered
the entire water column. That gives me great concern. The scientist in
me says
there was some other triggering mechanism."
Dr. Cake believes the "triggering mechanism" is likely oil and toxic
dispersants from the BP oil disaster.
Recent weeks have seen other huge fish kills. One occurred in
Mississippi from
Long Beach to Pass Christian, and another at Cat Island. The kill
earlier this
week in East St. Bernard Parish is of note, because taken in the context
of the
other two, all of these areas share the same body of water that which
comprises both of the Mississippi and Chandeleur Sounds.
On Aug. 18, a team from Georgia Sea Grant and the University of Georgia
released a report that estimates that 70 to 79 percent of the oil that
gushed
from the well "has not been recovered and remains a threat to the
ecosystem".
Nevertheless, regarding the St. Bernard Parish fish kill, the head
fisheries
biologist for the state of Louisiana, Randy Pausina, blamed it solely on
hypoxic conditions caused by extreme heat mixed with nutrient-rich
waters.
But Dr. Cake, along with commercial fishermen and Gulf Coast
environmentalists,
are drawing direct parallels to BP's oil disaster and the use of toxic
dispersants as the likely cause of the increased numbers of fish kills
they are
witnessing.
"There are several parallels to the spill," Dr. Cake added. "We
have evidence from fisherman operating in the VOO [Vessels of
Opportunity]
fleet and fishermen in the area who observed the spraying of dispersants
by
both aircraft and vessels in the immediate vicinity of the fish kills.
Therein
lies one triggering mechanism."
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