Gulf seafood declared safe; fishermen not so sure

VENICE, La. – Seafood from some parts of the oil-fouled Gulf of Mexico has been declared safe to eat by the government, based in part on human smell tests. But even some Gulf fishermen are questioning whether the fish and shrimp are OK to feed to their own families.

Some are turning up their noses at the smell tests — in which inspectors sniff seafood for chemical odors — and are demanding more thorough testing to reassure the buying public about the effects of the oil and the dispersants used to fight the slick.

“If I put fish in a barrel of water and poured oil and Dove detergent over that, and mixed it up, would you eat that fish?” asked Rusty Graybill, an oysterman and shrimp and crab fisherman from Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish. “I wouldn’t feed it to you or my family. I’m afraid someone’s going to get sick.”

Now that a temporary cap has kept oil from spewing out of BP’s blown-out well for more than two weeks, state-controlled fishing areas in Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi have slowly begun to reopen.

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Gulf seafood declared safe; fishermen not so sure

I’m not a scientist, I don’t play one on TV and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night, so, you’re going to have to take this as MY OPINION and not as some intensely well thought out, government funded project, or some, long, drawn out research project.

I just got off the phone, and after talking to some folks in South Louisiana, Cajun folks, some that were born Cajuns, some that are *imports* but have been living there nearly all their lives, the general consensus was this, FISH and SHRIMP — they wouldn’t hesitate to eat them. They are free swimmers. Crabs, not so much, they are bottom dwellers. Oysters, NO. Oyster beds are too sensitive to any disruption and may take a season or 2 to get back in good shape.

And besides, oysters are not recommended during HOT months anyway. Cold water kills the bacteria that is sometimes found in raw oysters, that bacteria thrives in warm water. It IS August after all. Yes, it is HOT.

One of my personal friends and blog comment makers, NativeSon, made this comment yesterday;

I heard last week from a reputable source (I can’t remember ’cause I’m “old�?…) that if the new Dallas Cowboys stadium represented the Gulf of Mexico (total gallons of water…) Then the TOTAL AMOUNT OF OIL SPILLED WAS EQUIVALENT TO ONE 12 OUNCE CAN OF THE BEVERAGE OF YOUR CHOICE!!

comment number 4 by: NativeSon on THIS THREAD.

I wish I had a source to some scientific data to back that statement up, but I don’t. It too is an opinion based on something heard or read. I know there are those that will demand LINKS, but ya know, once in a while, opinion is all you’ve got. It will suffice in this case I believe.

Despite splotches of chocolate-colored crude that wash up almost daily on protective boom and in marshes east of the Mississippi River, Louisiana has reopened those waters to fishing for such finfish varieties as redfish, mullet and speckled trout, and will allow shrimping when the season begins in two weeks. Oysters and blue crabs, which retain contaminants longer, are still off-limits.

See? I really DO know what I’m talking about!

Smell tests on dozens of specimens from the area revealed barely detectable traces of toxic substances, the Food and Drug Administration said. The state of Louisiana has also been testing fish tissue for oil since May and has not found it in amounts considered unsafe.

Let’s once again face the FACTS. The Gulf of Mexico is a self-cleaning ecosystem.

As said above, I’m not a scientist, and I’m sure not a marine biologist, but I do read a lot.

The Gulf of Mexico is a dumping ground. The Mississippi River dumps more toxins into the Gulf than ALL the oil spilled since drilling began. Every sewage plant up river from the mouth of the Mississippi dumps into it.

Every farmer that has fields along, or near the Mississippi has his own applications of fertilizer and pesticide washed off into the river, and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf of Mexico has been a self-cleaning ecosystem for as long as it’s been there. Otherwise, there are many people that would have long ago died from pollution.

In Mississippi on Monday, FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said the government is “confident all appropriate steps have been taken to ensure that seafood harvested from the waters being opened today is safe and that Gulf seafood lovers everywhere can be confident eating and enjoying the fish and shrimp that will be coming out of this area.”

Similarly, BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said Sunday that authorities “wouldn’t open these waters … if it wasn’t safe to eat the fish.” He said he would eat Gulf seafood and “serve it to my family.”

Personally, I don’t care what BP, The EPA, The FDA or anyone else connected to government has to say about this. I will trust the instincts of the people that live, work and thrive along the Gulf, the folks that EAT what comes from the Gulf, long before your local seafood restaurant serves it up on the Daily Special!