Gulf Oil Spill Debacle--Impact on Fish and Wildlife--Brief Overview--Bluefin Tuna Again in Peril

By Jim Field

The NYTimes provided an overview (below) of risk to Gulf fish and wildlife. Informative and sad. For Atlantic coast fisherman (i.e., us), the threat to fish larvae is perhaps the largest worry, in that already-depressed bluefin tuna stocks may be dealt a lethal blow in the Western Atlantic, matching the devastation already accomplished in the Eastern Atlantic. When will people wake up to this gigantic and global man-made disaster--specifically, collapsing fish stocks--that is one component of this oil disaster, but 100-times its importance for the world's eco-system?


Impact on Sea Life

- Brown pelicans and other seabirds often dive into the oil because the slick makes the water look calmer. If they are coated in oil, they will be unable to regulate their temperatures, leading to hyperthermia.

- Plankton, tiny immobile organisms at the base of the food chain, can be killed by chemically dispersed oil.

- All four species of sea turtles in the gulf are threatened or endangered. Some have already washed up ashore, and with numbers already low, it would be harder to rebuild the population.

- Dolphins, which often follow boats to play, have been following response crews, getting near the slicks.

- Shrimp and other shellfish are more vulnerable to oil and chemical dispersants because they are stationary, while some adult fin fish populations may be mobile.

- Fish larvae are most at risk. Bluefin tuna, now spawning near the spill, are of particular concern. The Gulf of Mexico is one of only two nurseries in the world for bluefin tuna.

- Sperm whales, which spend most of their time diving for prey, may come up in the slick as they reach the surface to breathe.