Officials from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR) voluntarily "took oyster fishermen out on the reefs off the Pass Christian Harbor on Wednesday to give them a preview of what to expect from the upcoming oyster season," according to Biloxi's Sun Herald.
What did they find? "An abundance of empty oyster shells... DMR officials dredged for oysters and pulled up catches with about 80 to 90 percent of the oysters dead," the paper reported.
A sampling of excuses from Scott Gordon, director of the shellfish bureau in Bill Walker's Mississippi Department of Marine Resources:
- "There have been more oyster mortalities this year, but he doesn’t know whether it can be attributed to the BP oil spill."
- "We don’t have any evidence that oil has contributed to these mortalities"
- "I'm not as encouraged about this season as I'd like to be."
- "The weather this summer may be a cause of the oyster deaths, he said."
- "We've had an unseasonably hot summer."
According to the report, "Some fishermen suspect the oil is a cause for the amount of empty oyster shells dredged up on the DMR trip" :
- Oyster dredger Loe Nguyen: "We’ve lost this season... It's bad news for the oyster fishermen."
- "Oyster dredger Minh Tran said it was the first time he’s seen a season like this. He’s been in the oyster business for 10 years."
So called officials these days are fools.
Do they have their heads so far up "you know where" not to realize this also impacts them as well as their families past, present and who knows how long into the future, and that now is the time to take action?
Not from oil? What about dispersants?????unless and until independent testing is done on the oysters and all the other dead fish for contamination from oil AND/OR DISPERSANTS, I don't buy it.
A local story here that I did on the East Coast of Fl. Ormond Beach. ... http://beforeitsnews.com/story/132/055/Hermit_crabs_dieing_Along_with_the_Blue_Crabs,_Oysters,_Ghost_Crabs,_Barnacles_PICS.html
I live in MS. This summer has NOT been hotter than usual in any way! Matter of fact we are looking at record LOWS this week and next. BP is throwing money around down here to Louisian and MS officials.
We,as citizens,must continue to put pressure on those accountable to test the seafood coming out of any exposed Bay/Gulf waters.
If it can be independently tested,even better!
I'm want to see proof that the water,soil & seafood has been properly tested for oil,dispersant's & the two combined with results that can be easily accessed by public!Transparency,please!
http://www.testingthewater.org/donate