It’s been more than two years since the BP oil spill that spewed 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, but not all the damage has yet been done.
According to the latest AP report, the lingering effects are still taking a toll on fishermen in the Gulf, who are seeing much smaller catches in some areas. In the Barataria estuary, for example, the shrimp haul for last fall was down nearly 40 percent while the crab harvest was down nearly 30 percent.
High seafood prices have helped compensate for the shortfall to some extent, and some are blaming high water in the Mississippi River and drought in Texas in addition to residual oil. But it’s clear that we haven’t seen the last of the devastation from the spill.
It’s vital that we keep the BP disaster in mind, especially now that the Obama administration has agreed to let Shell drill in the Arctic this summer. Polar bears, whales and countless other species could be at serious risk from yet another oil spill that could be even more deadly than the BP spill in the Gulf.
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Wildlife & Wild Places
