Food for Thought
The current oil disaster continues to wreak havoc on numerous species, but let’s focus for a moment on the bluefin tuna. Whether you’re a wildlife enthusiast like myself or simply enjoy the occasional tuna salad sandwich, you’ll want to read on.
According to MSNBC, the oil spill area overlaps the only known spawning area for the bluefin tuna. After spending about 10 months in the north Atlantic and swimming thousands of miles to the Gulf, bluefin tuna will find themselves fighting for their lives and the survival of their species this year. This may push the bluefin tuna off the edge of extinction.
This same water is also the spawning ground for many other species, including marlin, swordfish and yellowfin tuna, which arrive in the summer. The decimation of these species will drastically disrupt our ecosystems.
So what about after the oil is cleaned up? Well…
Some of the chemical components distributed throughout the water (to disperse the oil) will remain toxic for decades, and it’s not clear what the impact could be on future generations of bluefin or other creatures — sperm whales, Bryde’s whales, offshore dolphin populations and seabirds — that fish far from shore.
Let me make clear just how toxic these chemical oil dispersants we’re spraying over our ocean in unprecedented amounts are.
According to the New York Times, “Though all dispersants are potentially dangerous when applied in such volumes, Corexit is particularly toxic. It contains petroleum solvents and a chemical that, when ingested, ruptures red blood cells and causes internal bleeding. It is also bioaccumulative, meaning its concentration intensifies as it moves up the food chain.”
So, if the oil itself doesn’t kill the marine life, the oil dispersant might. If it doesn’t, what will happen when we consume these predatory fish exposed to Corexit? Time will tell.
