BP Oil Spill Aftermath: Eyeless Shrimp, Clawless Crabs and Fish with Oozing Sores

[Jackygor]

BP Oil Spill Aftermath: Eyeless Shrimp, Clawless Crabs and Fish with Oozing Sores
Al Jazeera just published an astonishing report on the after-effects of the BP oil disaster, and it's not pretty. There are an alarming number of deformities in sea creatures: mutated shrimp, fish with sores and lesions, eyeless crabs and more. It's unlike anything local fisherman have ever seen.
How bad is it?

The effect that the oil spill and its reckless cleanup has on sea life is frightening, damning and sad. Here's a list of deformities that Al Jazeera found in its report:

Shrimp with tumors on their heads
Shrimp with defects on their gills and "shells missing around their gills and head"
Shrimp without eyes
Shrimp with babies still attached to them
Eyeless fish
Fish without eye-sockets
Fish without covers on their gills
Fish with large pink masses hanging off their eyes and gills
Crates of blue crabs, all of which were lacking at least one claw
Crabs with holes in their shells
Crabs with shells that have no spikes or claws or misshapen claws
Crabs that are dying from within
The fishermen, scientists, and seafood processors who talked to Al Jazeera are all in unison: They've never seen this before. Some have worked in and around the Gulf for over 20 years, and most have seen thousands and thousands of fish. This is the first time they're seeing the mass mutation and destruction of seafood.

And it's not just the obvious deformities. Tests of the oysters that wind up on our plates have shown elevated levels of nickel and vanadium according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. And the jury's still out on arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury levels.

When did this start?

Scientists and fishermen are pointing to the 2010 BP oil disaster—and the dispersants and chemicals used in its cleanup—for creating these deformities. Specifically, the solvents used to clean up the spill are powerful enough to dissolve oil, grease and rubber. That's great for cleaning up an oil disaster, but terrible for the environment and worse for humans, not to mention the toll taken on anything that lives in the Gulf. And the thing is, these dispersants have always been known to be mutagenic. The chemicals very probably altered the genome of sea life.

Prior to the spill, only one tenth of one percent of Gulf fish had lesions or sores on them. After the spill, according to the University of South Florida, many locations showed 20 percent of fish having lesions with as much as 50 percent in other areas.

What exactly is the cause?


Dr. Jim Cowan of Louisiana State University believes that chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which the EPA terms as "a group of semi-volatile organic compounds that are present in crude oil that has spent time in the ocean," are causing the majority of problems. Fish and other sea creatures are being exposed to PAHs, which affect both the immediate health of the fish itself and the victim's genome.

On top of that, the dispersants used to clean up the oil spill are known to be toxic to humans. Symptoms of exposure include "headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains, chest pains, respiratory system damage, skin sensitization, hypertension, central nervous system depression, neurotoxic effects, cardiac arrhythmia and cardiovascular damage." Even more damningly, it can disturb the growth and development of a fetus.

Essentially: BP is cleaning up a spill with acid, and acting surprised when the floor disappears.

The government has lost control

The FDA, EPA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) all refused to comment on the awfulness that's happening in the Gulf. BP, the company who created this mess in the first place, refuse to take the blame, saying the seafood in the Gulf is "as safe now as it was before the accident." The evidence, of course, indicates otherwise.

What happens next?

The Gulf of Mexico provides nearly half of the seafood caught in the US (40%). With its inhabitants dying or suffering mutations before they're caught, it looks like seafood shortages are inevitable. According to various fishermen, brown shrimp catch has dropped by two-thirds, white shrimp have been wiped out and some fishermen's seafood catch are ten percent of what they normally are. Seafood, as America knows it, has changed. And without the proper funding or commitment or BP accepting the blame, these effects might last longer than anyone thinks.

Darla Rooks, a lifelong fisherperson from the Gulf, says it best:

"We're continuing to pull up oil in our nets. Think about losing everything that makes you happy, because that is exactly what happens when someone spills oil and sprays dispersants on it. People who live here know better than to swim in or eat what comes out of our waters."

The cure may not have been worse than the disease. But it looks like it was nearly as bad.

BP Oil Spill Aftermath: Eyeless Shrimp, Clawless Crabs and Fish with Oozing Sores

[melloman]

BP, the company who created this mess in the first place, refuse to take the blame, saying the seafood in the Gulf is "as safe now as it was before the accident.

I'd like to see ALL the BP executives sit down and have all this mutated seafood for dinner. Make sure you get it on film when everybody says "No thanks" or starts throwing up uncontrollably.

[RacePace]

Originally Posted by melloman

I'd like to see ALL the BP executives sit down and have all this mutated seafood for dinner. Make sure you get it on film when everybody says "No thanks" or starts throwing up uncontrollably.

[GabAlmighty]

And unfortunately... Zero fucks will be given.

[Pooface55]

i give a fuck

[will068]

This is more damage than any terrorist attacks on US soil.

Is there any correlation between abnormal mutation/retardation of animals being consumed and cancer growth in humans ? This is one of the reasons that GMO (non-organic) activist use to argue against genetically modified foods.

[MG1]

Originally Posted by Pooface55

i give a fuck

I also give a fuck.

Not related to the BP oil spill, but I received a letter, more like an ad, from Kinder Morgan yesterday. It was a reminder that everone should call before they dig.

I'm in North Burnaby. Not that close to the accident that happened near Hastings/Barnet Hwy. I wAnder how many others received the letter in their mail...........

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by melloman

I'd like to see ALL the BP executives sit down and have all this mutated seafood for dinner. Make sure you get it on film when everybody says "No thanks" or starts throwing up uncontrollably.

don't tell them in advance...serve them the seafood where it's prepared and the defects are well hidden...when they halfway through the meal, THEN tell them where it all came from...and then watch the expressions on their face.

[rsx]

Will sorry - YouTube

[Shorn]

was hoping for pictures of said mutated animals..

[TjAlmeida]

click on the link and watch the YouTube clip...

[MG1]

There goes my plan on eating more fish and getting away from eating red meats......

[too_slow]

At this rate, seafood will be banned from human consumption. I still regret not shoving all the delish sashimi in my face when I went to Hoikaido two summers ago.

[Hondaracer]

Teenage mutant ninja shrimp

[surreyjack604]

wonder what effects it will have on humans.

and didnt they clean the oil spill up with chemicals that just washed the oil to the ocean floor?

also funniest part of all of this was Halliburton buying the clean up company a week before the oil spill happened.

[mbrodie]

I heard that too.

I'm not crazy about hippies, but I sure don't want a pipeline going thru BC to the ocean.

That's just nuts

[pastarocket]

Originally Posted by melloman

I'd like to see ALL the BP executives sit down and have all this mutated seafood for dinner. Make sure you get it on film when everybody says "No thanks" or starts throwing up uncontrollably.

+1. That would just punishment for those BP executives.

This is awful news. The greed of some oil companies is destroying the oceans!

[Retrac]

Originally Posted by pastarocket

+1. That would just punishment for those BP executives.

This is awful news. The greed of some oil companies is destroying the oceans!

Greed of oil companies and the inabilities of government to react or enforce the environmental regulations they put forth.

[JesseBlue]

unfortunately, nothing will come of this...these companies hire 'the best' PR peeps to 180 this type of news...heck they'll blame it on wind/solar/water power...

[drunkrussian]

the only potential upside i see here is a possibility of extremely awesome future seasons of "river monsters"

[Zoidberg]

I thought this would be about Boston Pizza

[StylinRed]

its cuz of all the shit they pumped in to suck the oil up


also remember there were the hundreds of thousands of dead fish/crabs/etc etc that washed up on shore and their creeks/rivers

BP, the company who created this mess in the first place, refuse to take the blame, saying the seafood in the Gulf is "as safe now as it was before the accident." The evidence, of course, indicates otherwise.

its not BPs fault it was Halliburton (for the faulty drilling/materials used) and that operating/managing company Transocean

[Jackygor]

Originally Posted by surreyjack604

wonder what effects it will have on humans.

and didnt they clean the oil spill up with chemicals that just washed the oil to the ocean floor?

also funniest part of all of this was Halliburton buying the clean up company a week before the oil spill happened.

Scientists and fishermen are pointing to the 2010 BP oil disaster—and the dispersants and chemicals used in its cleanup—for creating these deformities. Specifically, the solvents used to clean up the spill are powerful enough to dissolve oil, grease and rubber. That's great for cleaning up an oil disaster, but terrible for the environment and worse for humans, not to mention the toll taken on anything that lives in the Gulf.

The chemicals they used to clean up the oil spill probably made matters worst.

[Hehe]

And they say nuclear power is the worst.

The fact is, when there's screw-up, any form of power generation is bad.

[JSALES]

that is just sick