One of the Greatest Threats of Oil To the Ecosystem In the Gulf
Posted: Monday, July 05, 2010
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
We read and hear of the various threats the oil spill gives our sea life creatures in the Gulf of Mexico. They are many and they are great. Yet some of the greatest effects which may damage it for years to come, sometimes are overlooked because of their seemingly indirect damage.
One of these which has the possibility of heavy damage with long term effects is the Sargassum algae. This stringy, dirty looking seaweed that has many small gas-filled berries which keep it afloat. It often washes up on the beaches and is disliked by beach goers because of it's appearance and it's seeming destination is in your sandals or between your toes.
Bluefin tuna is favored for its exceptional quality in production of sushi and due to their great size at maturity. Some reach as much as three-fourths ton which may be of value up to as much as $20,000 in retail sushi.
Bluefins are known to be over fished now, in fact there is a ban on catching bluefin in the Gulf of Mexico, in effect since the mid 1980's but they are not banned elsewhere. They are prized by tuna fishermen on the Atlantic seaboard. The problem with the bluefin is that they migrate to only two areas for spawning...that of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea. Their spawning takes place in April and May, exactly the time of the BP explosion.
Scientists believe that the majority of the adult bluefin were able to return to the Atlantic safely before the worst of the oil contaminated water spread, but the larvae and young fish are the primary concern.
The Sargassum algae, being a free floater, is subject to the whims of the tides, waves and wind. It washes up onto beaches and some of it moves out of the gulf and into other areas. The oil saturated mats of the algae is likely to smother or otherwise destroy any larvae or freshly hatched tuna.
Of course, the bluefin is not nearly the only species to which the Sargasso algae. Is key to their survival. Many of the larger fish such as sharks, whales, dolphin, wahoo and billfish, plus sea turtles and a number of sea birds will be affected by the contaminated weed.
The Sargassum seaweed has been harvested and used for certain commercial purposes. A North Carolina company was harvesting it to be dried and mixed into feed supplements. A Fishery Management Plan was approved in 2003 placing strict limits to such harvesting. No such is allowed south of the North Carolina/South Carolina border. A maximum of 5,000 pounds wet weight per year is now allowed. Harvesting is not allowed except from November through June, none may be harvested within a 100 mile distance from shore and observers are required to be on board during the harvest.
The extent of the potential oil damage is not known at this time, however, scientists are monitoring and testing all factors as they are available and expect to soon be able to make some educated estimates.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)What is amazing in this situation is the political correctness of the news and news mediaIn the case of Katrina - it was a terrible storm , which left areas isolated and communities without communicationPresident Bush was vilified when in many cases it was mainly a case of incompetence by FemaIn this case its out and out nonconcern and politicsAmerica wake up your needs are not being met in any manner shape or formThank you Terry for reading and an excellent comment. You are right. Negligence is what caused the explosion.
Interesting info, never heard about this-thanks.Thanks Steve, for reading and the comment. Frankly, I had not heard of it myself, until I read a long story about it recently. There are a lot of things concerning the ecosystem that often do not meet the eye.
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