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

[n2doc]

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

more

http://gizmodo.com/5903021/bp-oil-spill-aftermath-eyeless-shrimp-clawless-crabs-and-fish-with-oozing-sores

[sasha031]

1. this is so heartbreaking, I'm sure most are not surprised.

[freshwest]

2. Which will be bleached and ground down into fish sticks and fed to children and unwitting adults.

Oh, and by the way, that oil spill was no big deal.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

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.

Thanks for the thread, n2doc.

[MountainLaurel]

4. Meanwhile, the Gulf Coast is spending millions on ad campaigns

Telling people to eat Gulf seafood

http://louisianaseafood.com/

[TrogL]

5. Sounds like some of the fish I took out of polluted Lake Ontario

Downstream from the infamous Love Canal.

[AverageJoe90]

6. And given that I've had seafood recently.......

Well, it does make me feel a little uneasy, you know. I'm a bit of a seafood fanatic and love anything with shrimp or crab in it........

[proverbialwisdom]

7. More here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014100691