Gulf oil spill: NOAA expands no-fishing zone to nearly a fifth of the gulf
Federal authorities on Tuesday expanded the no fishing zone associated with the BP oil spill to encompass 19% of the Gulf of Mexico. The closure now totals 45,728 square miles, extending southeast from the blowout site in the shape of a dog leg.
In a Tuesday news conference, Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the main body of the BP spill remained dozens of miles from the loop. But "a tendril of light oil" was approaching the current, which could carry it around the Florida peninsula.
"Oil is increasingly likely to become entrained, if it is not already," she said, predicting that it would take eight to 10 days to reach the Florida Straits between the Florida Keys and Cuba.
As the strand of slick is carried along, it will evaporate and disperse, taking the form of emulsified strips and tar balls. "It will become very, very dilute," Lubchenco explained, suggesting that it would not have significant onshore impacts.
Testing of tar balls that have hit the Florida Keys indicates some are associated with the BP spill and some originate from other sources, according to NOAA.
The Loop Current consists of warm water from the Caribbean that curves around the Gulf of Mexico, travels through the Florida Straits and joins the Gulf Stream flowing up the East Coast.
Current modeling indicates that if the BP slick becomes entwined with the loop and is carried up the East Coast, it is unlikely to go far and will remain some distance offshore, Lubchenco said.
--Bettina Boxall
Photo: Overview of oil spill. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times
So horrible, this is going to effect fish and all kind of sea animals. It's very sad day for us oudoorsmen.
Posted by: Dan | September 20, 2010 at 07:19 AM
I am from Louisiana and fish offshore including last Saturday and Monday. I would love to turn off that spewing well and remove every drop of oil from the gulf. I can't do either one but I can warn you that overreaction will only hurt. The greatest motivation to shut the thing off is money of which is costing BP millions per day in lost revenue and in liability. The oil will over time dissipate and we will lose some of our coast here in Louisiana but we will survive and we will look back on this and learn from it. Don't be ridiculous and try and have drilling stopped as all we would be doing is giving more money to those who would kill us. Remember we lost eleven lives in that accident but have lost thousands due to the money we send to Arab nations who want us and the Jewish state dead.
Posted by: John | June 03, 2010 at 01:29 PM
The White House and BP are too busy following the money trail and blaming each other! We can’t trust them to do anything rational anymore!
They tried to drop a building with a vent pipe in it on the spill and were surpised that it was cold down there…they tried to put mud into a flowing pipe without turning off the pipe first! They’ve made the oil slick more toxic by adding a chemical dispersant that makes it flow underwater in plumes of 22 mile lengths of fish killing clouds.
They have ignored natural bio-degradeable surfactants mixed with microbes that eat the oil and then go away.
When they thought the TOP KILL was gonna work we saw the beaches filled with brand new,crisp WHITE UNIFORMED hazmat teams walking around picking up tar balls and putting them into plastic bags as the President dug around in the sand with his finger!
We heard the Government was calling the shots from the beginning! Strange news to me! All I remember is BLAME and a FLOTILLA OF LAWYERS HEADING TO LOUSIANNA!
Liberals get two hits at once…they strangle oil drilling and fishing by doing nothing!
We have to switch our thinking now, to what are we going to do WHEN this killing tide reaches our shores…not IF!
First Pray for guidance and wisdom!
Then ACT by contacting and supporting real groups who can help replant our coasts.
Raise questions so we can get results! We need plans NOW!
SUPPORT THE FISH AND GAME DEPARTMENTS! We will need their guidance now, more than ever!
We need to contact our Agriculture Centers, FFA, Fisheries and local Civic Organizations and prepare to restore the balance to our ecosystem after the oil hits.
Let’s call for an all out preparation to replant native aquatic plants, fish, and marine animals!
QUESTIONS TO ASK OUR STATE AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENTAL OFFICIALS:
Are we prepared to restore our natural estuaries once they are wiped out by this disaster?
Do we have samples on hand of our native bay grasses, weeds and other shelters our fish, shellfish and marine animals need to thrive and replenish our waters?
Are there adequate fisheries and other sources we can get eggs, fingerlings or adult native fish to re-introduce after we clean up this disaster?
What is the plan?
How will it be implemented?
Who will be in charge?
WE HAVE NO TIME TO BLAME AND LAMENT! WE ONLY HAVE TIME TO PREPARE AND ACT!
US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HAS THE TECHNOLOGY!
Growing Premium Seafood—Inland!
Restore Our Shores
Time to Plan to Replenish Our Coastal Wetlands and Gamefish
Time for a NOAH’S ARK for Our FISH!
Use some of that BP Money to build GIANT SALT WATER FISH TANKS!
We can clean up the mess and raise new schools of native fish, crustacians and other local marine life.
We can clean up this mess over the winter and be ready to re-stock our waters next Spring!
They do it with SALMON RUNS and other fish…why won’t it work here?
Call the Department of Agriculture and ask WHY NOT?
ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES
thanks,
Harry Outdoors
http://talesof5rivers.com
Posted by: Harry Outdoors | May 31, 2010 at 02:17 PM
How likely are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in crude oil to cause cancer?
The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that some PAHs may reasonably be expected to be carcinogens.
Some people who have breathed or touched mixtures of PAHs and other chemicals for long periods of time have developed cancer. Some PAHs have caused cancer in laboratory animals when they breathed air containing them (lung cancer), ingested them in food (stomach cancer), or had them applied to their skin (skin cancer).
Your incident command will pass out the MSDS ,Material Safety Data Sheet, in affected areas .
Posted by: Bill Carson | May 18, 2010 at 02:40 PM