CNSNews – October 20, 2010
No Evidence Gulf Oil Spill Killed Fish, Says NOAA
By Fred Lucas

There is no evidence the Deep Water Horizon oil spill killed any fish, according to federal and state officials overseeing the oil cleanup, while captured commercial fish passed testing by multiple government agencies. But even with plenty of fish in the sea, the fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico is still suffering from a big perception problem. “In federal waters, I can tell you, there haven’t been any fish kills reported that are linked to the oil spill,” Christine Patrick, spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told CNSNews.com. “I know there have been fish kills reported in state waters, but I think they have determined they weren’t a result of the oil spill.”

Fish have died for seasonal related reasons, said Bo Boehringer, spokesman Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “We’ve investigated fish kills, but none have yet been tied to oil impacts,” Boehringer told CNSNews.com.

Kevin Anson, chief biologist for Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said, “As far as wildlife, we have not observed or pinpointed any mortality in Alabama state waters of any finfish that could be attributed directly to oil. We had observed a fish kill throughout the event when there was oil in the area or offshore. But we attributed those mostly to natural phenomenon.”

Nevertheless, the region’s fishing industry took a beating, said Ewell Smith, president of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, a state fishing industry group.

NOAA has teamed with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test the seafood along with various state agencies. “All of them have come back with a clean bill of health, which is all different groups doing the testing. That’s the good news,” Smith told CNSNews.com. “It is the most tested food source in the world right now.”

The lack of fish deaths and contaminations is not a surprise to Smith, who said fish just swim out of the way when they see something dangerous in the water. ”It’s like, if there is a burning building, you’re not going to walk into it if you see it,” Smith said. “You’re going to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. That’s what fish do. They’re able to get out of the way.”

Read the rest here.