Is Gulf Seafood Safe?

After three and a half months of oil spilling into the Gulf and toxic dispersants being poured into the water, one has to wonder if that could possibly have an effect on the seafood derived from those waters.

The federal government and British Petroleum have both attempted to convince the American public that seafood from the Gulf is safe to consume.

President Obama went so far as serving Gulf seafood at the White House. Nevertheless, all of the political propaganda has not convinced the fishermen who work in the Gulf that their product is safe.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently reported that over 75 percent of the oil on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico has vanished. This promising news led to the federal government allowing certain fish species to be harvested again.

At first it was assumed that the oil had disintegrated, destroyed by sunlight. However, many fisherman have come to accept a more sinister explanation.

Blue crabs and other bottom dwelling sea creatures have been found with oil in their gills. The only way that these creatures, which spend their entire life on the seabed, could end up ingesting oil, is if it were on the seafloor.

Perhaps the oil from the surface did not just disappear, but instead sank to the bottom of the ocean through mixing.

As a result, seafood from the Gulf may not be safe for consumption, and may not be for years.

Methods for cleaning oil off the surface of the water exist, but with current technology, it is not possible to skim oil from the deep ocean floor.

Any significant quantity of oil that has settled to the seabed will take time to degrade. During that time, it is not safe to consume seafood, particularly shellfish, harvested from the Gulf.

Another possible problem for marine life in the Gulf involves toxic chemical dispersants that were used in great abundance to clean up the oil.

There have already been cases of humans being hospitalized after coming in contact with the oil dispersants.

Some experts are afraid that consuming fish tainted with dispersants may have similar negative health effects.

However, Government officials insist that the fish have not been befouled by oil dispersants. But many feel that the testing done for oil dispersants has been inadequate.

Officials object to the use of the so- called "smell test," in which inspectors sniff the sampled fish searching for the scent of oil dispersants.

Detractors of the smell test method point out that fish that have ingested oil dispersants in small quantities may not carry the odor of dispersants, but could potentially make people sick

During a press conference held by a group of Gulf fishermen, they stated a desire to continue working on the clean- up efforts rather than catching fish.

The fisherman pointed to the oil covered blue crabs and the inadequate testing for dispersants as proof that fish species are infected and should not be approved for consumption.