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Apr 20 2012 08:04am

TLDR: 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Do mutated fishes from the oil spill die off? Do they live on? Does "Survival of the fittest idea" apply here? (Mutated sea creatures being at disadvantage/advantage?)

Quote
"eyeless fish, and fish lacking even eye sockets, and fish with lesions, fish without covers over their gills and others with large pink masses hanging off their eyes and gills."

Remember there are mutations we don't know about.

Quote
The scientists explained more than a year ago that, at any time during the spill, an immensely hungry person could have gone to a restaurant or grocery stores and eaten 63 pounds of peeled Gulf shrimp (1,575 large shrimp); 5 pounds of local oyster meat (130 oysters); or 9 pounds of Gulf fish (18, 8-ounce fish fillets) every day for five years and still would not have reached levels of health concern, other than probable obesity.
via http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2012/04/2_years_after_gulf_oil_spill_l_1.html

Will this quote apply 10 years later from now? After the spill has affected more areas? and the food chain?


I know we still need time to determine the long term effect but what do you guys think?? Safe to eat? Dont' care? Other factors that need to be taken into consideration?
They all die off from complications/being eating by other fishes?? (Eyeless shrimp, easier prey?? makes no difference?)
or will they reproduce offsprings and live for 50+ years? How does this affect the food chain?

Discuss the Oil Spill consequences. Now, 5 years later, 10 years later, ect.


//Edit Today marks 2 years since the BP oil spill. (April 20 2010)


This post was edited by Travincal on Apr 20 2012 08:05am
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Apr 20 2012 08:46am
One of the great things about oil is the light (and most toxic) elements do not stay in crude long in those environments.

There are also microbial organisms that feed upon the oil.

Top scientists, quite literally, suggested that it's better to let nature do the cleaning for us.

So in terms of the long term ramifications; there really aren't any more that are outside of our predictions. The real damage has already been done and the Earth has already employed its self cleaning mechanisms.
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Apr 20 2012 09:40pm
fish like that is pretty common back in my home town...
i don't know why it is such a big deal..
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Apr 20 2012 09:51pm
Very few people truly understand the process evolution and its interrelations with mutations.

You obviously won't eat fish straight from an oil spill but the worst mutation you would see are fish adept at surviving in concentrations of crude oil. You also have to remember that developmental mutations and germline mutations are completely different things. Otherwise, I don't see any imminent danger to us or the greater ecology.

And, if people don't inquire about where their food comes from its their fault tbh.

This post was edited by EndlessSky on Apr 20 2012 09:51pm
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