This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Is Gulf Seafood Safe to Eat?
The FDA and NOAA say that Gulf seafood is fine. President Obama ate a fish taco yesterday made with Gulf fish.
So does that mean Gulf seafood is safe to eat?
I had hoped
- for the sake of the Gulf fishermen and the entire Gulf economy - that
the answer was yes. But after digging a bit, I'm not so sure.
For example, Local fishermen don't trust the safety of the fish:
"Fishermen "We do not think it is safe but the
Neither do local shrimpers:
here are calling it 'Voodoo seafood' because we are all cursed," said
Bill Thompson of Long Beach, Mississippi. Fishermen from Texas,
Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida gathered in Biloxi last
week to discuss their fears.
state officials say it is. Who do you trust? The people that know these
waters or the government?" Thompson added.
The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that of all the samples of
seafood that have been tested since the oil spill, none have shown
evidence of contamination.
While some in the coastal seafood industry agree with these assessments, a majority seem to view the news with a sense of betrayal.
"The
cleanup isn't even close to being done," said Karen Hopkins of Dean
Blanchard Seafood, which accounts for about 11 percent of the U.S.
shrimp supply, on the barrier island of Grand Isle.
"The last
thing I want to do is scare anyone away from the seafood down here,"
said Dawn Nunez, standing at the counter of the shrimp wholesale
business and deli she owns in the tiny fishing town of Hopedale. "But if I’m not eating it or feeding it to my children, I can’t advise anyone else to eat it either."
Indeed, crabs and crab larvae have been discovered filled with oil. See this and this.
As AOL news notes:
Petroleum
contamination is known to cause cancer and brain damage. But how much
oil and gas does it take to make seafood dangerous?
Obviously,
low doses of even the strongest poison won't cause health problems, so
it is all a question of how much oil - if any - is making it into Gulf
seafood. But as the AOL News article notes, BP might be lobbying to
raise the amount of oil in seafood which is considered safe.
And its not just oil.
As Fox 8 in New Orleans reports:
Researchers
at Tulane say it appears they've detected a Corexit sort of fingerprint
in the orange blobs found lodged in the bodies of tiny blue crab larvae
collected from marshes that stretch from Texas to Florida.
[University
of New Orleans’ Martin O’Connell, Ph.D] said O'Connell said most
components of oil won't bio-accumulate, meaning oil likely won't reach
the food chain. As for Corexit, he said, "no one really knows." "If
you're a small fish and you eat 1,000 of these small crab larvae and
all of them have oil or Corexit droplets in them they could get into
the fish.. that little fish could be eaten and so on and so on," said
O'Connell.
Sky News notes:
[Dr
George Crozier] director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is worried about
the potential build up of some chemical compounds in the food chain.
[He]
is particularly concerned about polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons… “If
we do see over the years fish accumulating PAH, it will almost
certainly be attributable to Deepwater Horizon… I can imagine 10 or 20
years from now there will be the same kind of health warnings about
say, grouper or snapper from the centre of the Gulf, that apply to tuna
from all over the world, for mercury.”
NOAA admitted in a Congressional hearing that seafood isn't being tested for dispersants, even though they may bioaccumulate.
It is well-known that the EPA buried the concerns of its own toxicologists about the application of Corexit. As the Guardian points out:
The
Obama administration is facing internal dissent from its scientists for
approving the use of huge quantities of chemical dispersants to tackle
the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Guardian has learned.***
Jeff
Ruch, the executive director of the whistleblower support group Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said he had heard from five
[EPA] scientists and two other officials who had expressed concerns to
their superiors about the use of dispersants."There was one
toxicologist who was very concerned about the underwater application
particularly," he said. "The concern was the agency appeared to be
flying blind and not consulting its own specialists and even the
literature that was available."Veterans of the Exxon Valdez
spill questioned the wisdom of trying to break up the oil in the deep
water at the same time as trying to skim it on the surface. Other EPA
experts raised alarm about the effect of dispersants on seafood.Ruch
said EPA experts were being excluded from decision-making on the spill.
"Other than a few people in the united command, there is no involvement
from the rest of the agency," he said. EPA scientists would not go
public for fear of retaliation, he added.***
Independent
scientists also criticised the EPA for claiming that the combination of
oil and dispersants posed no greater danger to marine life on its own.On
Wednesday, a toxicologist from Texas Tech University is scheduled to
tell a Senate hearing that the unprecedented use of dispersants
"created an eco-toxicological experiment".
"The bottom line is
that a lot of oil is still at sea dispersed in the water column," said
Ron Kendall. "It's a big ecological question as to how this will
ultimately unfold." Previous studies, including a 400-page study by the
National Academy of Sciences, have warned that the combination of oil
and dispersants is more toxic than oil on its own, because the
chemicals break down cell walls, making organisms more susceptible to
oil.
The EPA issued a report on Monday, based on a study of
how much of the mixture was needed to kill a species of shrimp and
small fish, just two of the 15,000 types of marine life in the Gulf.
The EPA test did not address medium- or long-term effects, or reports
last week that dispersants were discovered in the larvae of blue crab,
entering the food chain.
***
Hugh Kaufman, a senior EPA policy analyst, dismissed the tests as little more than a PR stunt.
But isn't this all old news, because the Corexit has already broken down in the environment? Maybe. But as the Press-Register noted on August 6th:
The stained, brown water seen washing up in pockets along Alabama beaches for the last two weeks appears to contain the dispersant widely used on oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill, according to a preliminary analysis.
Ed
Overton, a Louisiana State University chemist… [who] is analyzing oil
samples for the federal government… said… “indications [are] that there
was a dispersant signal in the sample.” … [T]he signal was similar to a Corexit sample.
Harriet
Perry, a scientist at the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs
[said]… “It looks like they found [COrexit],” Perry said of work by
research colleagues at Tulane University [researching crab larvae]…
“For a droplet to be that small, it has to be dispersed oil… It’s
supposed to biodegrade rapidly. It’s supposed to disappear in days, not
weeks, but that may not be happening.”
In
addition, some claim that even the chemicals left behind when Corexit
breaks down are toxic, although I have seen no scientific evidence one
way or the other.
The bottom line is that some Gulf seafood is probably safe and other
Gulf seafood is probably not very safe, depending on where it swam in
relation to the oil plumes and a host of other factors. But since the
government is being close-lipped about the details of its test results
- and isn't even testing for dispersants - it is hard to know whether a
particular piece of seafood is safe or not.
- advertisements -
is gulf seafood safe to eat? does washing your hands in the toilet get them clean? will not bathing cause you to smell? will not brushing your teeth have any long-term effect on your gums? why does it hurt when i poke my eye?
George Washington, a big THANK YOU for lighting up this "DEAD" issue
"President Obama ate a fish taco yesterday made with Gulf fish"
Anyone else think of that old Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns is running for office and Marge serves him a 3-eyed fish that was caught in the river downstream of his power plant? He takes one bite and "PTOOOOI!"
I;m sure there's planty of safe seafood coming from the gulf. But I am equally sure there's a share of unsafe seafood coming from the gulf. Now, someone tell me how to determine which is which?
wong again wang.
you see oil everywhere dontcha?
Well, you know the old saying: " to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail "
VW Bug, how come you consistently play the BP all is good side with such dedication and vehemence?
Are you a paid shill? Your comments go beyond fact finding to fact suppression and ridicule
FU and the government horse you rode in on. Goes same for the rest of you paid for BP clowns
Anger is quietly growing amidst us ordinary folk.
p.s your lame internet threats are not only funny, but reinforce the fact that you doomsters are merely angry, depressed psychos looking for an excuse to take out your anger on the world.
glad you get to do so here, instead of down at your local unemployment office with your ak47.
mh how come you accuse every person who has a contrary viewpoint of being a paid shill?
is it because you are so frighteningly dogmatic you can't believe anyone disagrees with your paranoia and fear mongering?
FWIW I think BP is a bloody disaster of a company, bordering on criminal, but probably just greedy and incompetent, that deserves to lose the billions it is paying and will continue to pay.
My objection is to the morons making ridiculous, mindless accusations of mega disasters that any 12 year old can see are untrue, which merely discredits the real story.
From NY Daily News this image of the Pres and family watching a dolphin frolic in the Gulf earlier today. (note the dorsal fin that appeas to be stained with oil)
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/08/15/2010-08-15_president...
ermm,
If shit like the story in wangs' link gets attention in the media, something definately must be wrong. As to the taco which he may or may not have consumed may or may not have originated from the Gulf and may or may not have been sitting deep frozen in a freezer from times prior to the spill.
The "Nature has taken care of the problem and the spill has miraculously vaporized leaving the Gulf and life left there unaffected" Is a litle too rich for my blood.
Although I have no doubt in my mind that USA's beloved leader will convince the vast majority of it's population that everything is hunky-doory by the mere fact that he supposedly has consumed something of unknown origin and has witnessed a perky porpoise / porpoison somewhere at some point in time.
LMAO
Taco came out of POTUS's food cache on AF1. Betcha, betcha, betcha. After all, they took him down there for his Vacation, right after FOTUS and the little one came back from Spain on Vacation, right before he takes a week to fly around the US on Vacation Campaigning.
Gulf seafood is wonderful cooked on an outdoor grill because you dont need charcoal or gas ---just ignite
Secret Service: Here, give POTUS this taco.
Cook: But that's not one of mine.
SS: You eat yours, send this one out and if you don't wish to become fish food yourself, you will forget this ever happened.
people that are insecure depressed always like to talk about the end of their world, seroundings or whatever. It makes it easier for them to understand why their lives are so miserably and fucked up.
Same for the fishermen. They first overfished the seas and their catches are getting smaller and smaller. They just took to much.
And now they blame it on the oil.
Sure! OIL IS BAD! And it will have for sure killed millions of fish! I KNOW!
But the fishermen are also to blame for the life in the sea just... dies.
They catch 10 fish of which they only keep one and sell, and all the others they throw away because they are to small to large of not what they want. Also, you can't imagine how many fish are caught for pig food, dog food, cow food.... but not for human consumption.
So when those fishermen complain, I just say: I hope this event will stop most of them of killing the sea.
They are just like the jews after the concentration camps. Everything else that followed was waived away because of Auschwitz.
Arbeit Macht Fish Fry?
+Zweinzig!
So many fish have been killed, I don't see this toxic mess going away any time soon. This is a god awful mess that will not be fixed for a very long time. If the president of the United States wants to clean the gulf up by eating one fish at a time, go ahead. Its a free country.
Actually, I wish he ate NOTHING BUT fish from the GoM.
Public Misled on Air Quality After 9/11 Attack, Judge Says
NYT: February 3, 2006
Christie Whitman, when she led the Environmental Protection Agency, made "misleading statements of safety" about the air quality near the World Trade Center in the days after the Sept. 11 attack and may have put the public in danger, a federal judge found yesterday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/03/nyregion/03suit.html
George: if the seafood eat the oil, and get cancer, and then you eat the cancerous seafood, it doesn't mean you will get cancer. Nature doesn't work that way, but why spoil your beautiful theory?
Gordon, bring brain when entering ZH
+1
You beat me to it.
typo - "for the safe of gulf fisherman"
Hopefully the One will have a big cookout down dare!!
Baron Samedi says EAT UP! HA HA HAH HAH HA!
bugs, typo. will have a cookout down there (dare?) I am only pointing out if you want to correct others, you need to set a better example
With the government's notorious track record for half-truths and outright lies, I can hardly say that I'm surprised. While I'm still not afraid to eat seafood, I'm not exactly going to run out and hunt down some crawfish from the Gulf anytime soon. Common sense dictates that the government would be more than happy to provide a rosy picture of the safety of the seafood in the short term, and then follow up with a "whoops, we fucked up" about a decade from now, when people are suffering en masse. Just look at the massive cock-up with the air-quality reports following 9/11, and the government's rather lackadaisical response ten years after the fact. The conclusion that I'm drawing is that they can wait out the sick via a tangled web of "legal processes" that will render any plaintiffs dead before they could ever hope to win a settlement.
I wouldn't touch GoM seafood with a 10-foot drill pipe!
Does anyone remember this?? Denial is one helluva drug!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal
Crawfish come mainly from the basin or flooded rice fields (farm raised). They have not been affected. Oysters remain the biggest risk.
+1
p.s. just booked a nice place in sarsota for my folks in january, $1000 less than the usual rate.
thanks to all you poor sheeple listening to the MSM!
And you've all their wills, powers of attorney and health care directives in order. You crafty little boy!
well there's plenty of bioaccumulation in the great lakes fishery that keeps several species on the consumption advisory list.....That doesn't prevent some of the locals from eating smoked steelhead and salmon...I guess they figure a little extra mercury isn't going to make them any more crazy than they already are.
i heard all the oil is floating together in a massive lake, 400 feet deep and god knows how many miles square.
so i figure even fish are smart enough to avoid swimming through that, they'll stick to all the water around the lake that must be pretty much oil free, so it must be safe.
I had seafood 3 times last week, and i didn't even ask where it came from. It was pretty good, and i'm still alive. amazing.
Please enjoy more tomorrow! In fact, I'd suggest you eat seafood two meals per day from now on.
your post explains a great deal
good, i was getting tired of typing 'sarcasm off'
OK now that was funny. Milk came out my nose.
Aaaaaaaaannnnnd in before the shills!
Good work George and don't let the shills get you down. I may not agree with all you write, but am happy to see someone investigating this suddenly silent matter. Cheers.
Yes, isn't it amazing how silent it has become?
The only loud "investigation" that I've seen recently in the MSM was a supposedly investigative TV show on the question. The message was loud and clear, that the Gulf is safe to visit again, and the food is safe to eat. And the very first commercial was for (wait for it, wait for it) .... BP! Of how good a company they are, and how they are working hard to make our world a better place.
The MSM "news" is nothing but one big commercial, paid for by lots of little commercials.
"The MSM "news" is nothing but one big commercial, paid for by lots of little commercials."
Was laughing as I read that. I saw a Mandelbrot fractal world commercials within commercials.
Scale out, scale in, micro-commercial to mega-commercial.
Brilliant.
ORI
http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com
Thanks, Bring the Gold. I don't bat 100%, and ocassionally need to correct/retrat what I've written. But I investigate things the MSM won't touch, and believe that I have a much higher percentage of accuracy in my reports than the MSM does. And unlike the MSM, my goal isn't to retain access to TPTB or to bring in advertising $. It is simply to uncover and report on the truth.
5 Reasons that Corporate Media Coverage is Pro-War Dan Rather Slams the Corporate MediaGW, please don't compare your credability to that of the MSM. As most of us know the MSM was aware of problems with abnormal kicking at the Macondo well as far back as January. They were bought out and granted BP relief from unscheduled tests and safety regulations. If you really want to stir the pot, just look at how much liability the MSM had in this disaster. I posted this Wall St. Jl clip back in May. While Msm officials were enjoying their all expense vacations at Atlantis, the crews at the DWH were sweating their asses off trying to contain a monster.
http://www.zerohedge.com/forum/inside-scoop-deep-water-horizon
We already know that the entire GoM information release has been micromanaged by the Gubamint, dutifully attempting to portray their efforts as benevolent, altruistic, loving, kind and necessary, particularly in front of upcoming midterms.
So why in the Good Lord's name would anybody assume that GoM fish "are all right?"
(As if Tommy'd been with Uncle Ernie.)
I don't care what the government says, warm water fish are now excluded from my diet.
Agreed.
27 hour vacation in the Gulf?
Did anyone actually see the President eat the fish taco?
Other reports are that it was ordered with chicken and hamburger.
Maybe Bo ate the taco.
Did anyone actually see the President and his daughter swimming in the Bay (not the Gulf)?
Maybe it was photoshopped like Mao's epic swims up the Yangtze...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuMj7KruXk0&feature=player_embedded 3:46
Why would anyone believe anything that the Obamanation claims to do? The only thing that we can be certain is that he eats kosher, al a Rahm.
Maybe ingesting some oil and dispersant will improve Obama's thinking, but I doubt it.
http://dahrjamailiraq.com/gulf-coast-fishermen-challenge-us-government-o...