While the state is pressing BP for $75 million for tourism marketing efforts and seafood promotion and the federal government continues to broadcast that Gulf of Mexico seafood is safe, there is empirical evidence that this is not entirely true. While the state is pressing BP for $75 million for tourism marketing efforts and seafood promotion and the federal government continues to broadcast that Gulf of Mexico seafood is safe, there is empirical evidence that this is not entirely true.
In a video broadcast by New Orleans' Fox affiliate earlier this week, crabbers in St. Bernard parish arrived at a dock in Yscloskey with a haul of oiled crabs. To add insult to injury, when B & K Seafood dealer Kevin Heiier called the Department of. Wildlife and Fisheries to report the tainted crabs, the state biologist who was supposed to come collect samples never showed up. Twenty-four hours later, all the crabs were dead and the state declined to run any tests at all. So crabbers are now headed back out to try to locate the oiled crabbing grounds so tests can be run.
Today, an AP video story reports a second huge fish kill in Plaquemines Parish. Plaquemines coastal manager P.J. Hahn talks about the second of two massive fish kills, this one in Bay Joe Wise. State officials claim last week's fish kill, in Bayou Chaland, was caused by low oxygen in the water. While the cause of the Bay Joe Wise fish kill hasn't been ascertained, there is obvious oil on the dead fish. The video also shows heavy oil lining the edges of the bay. Hahn says parish crews have been cleaning up for weeks without making a dent in the oil.
If you are not sure about eating seafood from the Gulf, take a look at these two videos, they might help you make up your mind.