World's biggest fish very vulnerable to oil spill

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

World's biggest fish very vulnerable to oil spill
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY
Associated Press Writer

http://media.miamiherald.com.nyud.net:8090/smedia/2010/05/19/12/Image_1.embedded.prod_affiliate.56.JPG

A 10-meter whale shark surface filter feeds in
the northern Gulf of Mexico during the summer
of 2006. Photo by GCRL

NEW ORLEANS -- The world's biggest fish may be highly vulnerable to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and one of its favorite feeding grounds is in the area of the spill.

Whale sharks feed on the surface, sucking plankton, fish eggs and small fish into their mouths. Surface oil could clog the cartilage filter pads that direct food to the back of their throat, and could coat their gills while they feed, said Eric Hoffmayer, a researcher at the University of Southern Mississippi who has been studying whale sharks in the northern Gulf since 2002.

"If it did get their gills coated, I can only imagine they would suffocate relatively quickly," he said.

More than one-third of all whale shark sightings in the northern Gulf since 2002 have been off the mouth of the Mississippi River, Hoffmayer said.

"The mouth of the river is the primary area where these things show up. Year after year after year," he said. "This is a prime feeding area for them."

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/19/1637125/worlds-biggest-fish-very-vulnerable.html

[Bragi]

1. Dear Fish: Sorry about that habitat degradation thing /nt

[FirstLight]

2. ...so what is 'relatively quickly' ...?

Will they sufocate over the course of hours or days? Does it *hurt* to die that way? Or do the fish not feel pain because they are just fish?


:puke: I am disgusted by this mess, I wish I didn't feel so responsible for those animals and full of so much regret and sadness... I wish there was some way to *truly* help them... I wish that the oil people and govt people involved in deregulation and shoddy workmanship die equally horrible deaths. :mad:

[CLANG]

3. More like we don't experience any pain because they're only fish.

If their gills get coated with oil I would say they'd be dead certainly within the day, if not the hour.

[babyblonde]

8. AGREE

100%:mad: :grr: sad

[zenprole]

4. BP Censors

BP, with Coast Guard connivance, is prohibiting access to beaches and the Gulf. That's for CBS news, y'all.

If we were a nation worthy of the name, CEO's and politicians would be running for their lives.

I'm just sayin'.

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. What do you mean they are prohibiting access?

Need link to that info, please.

Where, which beaches, etc?

[suffragette]

7. Here you go

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8364906



The Coast Guard's response to this noting they were allowing embedded reporters is also of note.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8367233

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Yikes!!!!!!!

TY for links.

Uggghhh....fascism indeed.

[suffragette]

11. This is one of the instances where DU is invaluable

in finding out what's really going on.
Not seeing much about that Coast Guard response, maybe because he made his reply by posting to the comments section of the CBS website instead of in the press where it would possibly be picked up and noticed more.
I wouldn't have known about this if I hadn't seen Bonobo's threads on it.

Join you in the :mad:

[flamingdem]

10. What is the justification for prohibiting people from the beach??!! nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. To hide how bad the spill is.

Even the Mobile Ala newspaper is minimizing the truth.
Only by reading the comments of the online paper can I see glimmers of reality.
Heavily Republican area, ya know.

[onenote]

5. Whale Sharks are magnificent creatures

Gentle giants. Diving with them in the Galapagos is still one of my favorite memories.