From the Washington Post:
The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill struck at the very heart of fish, a new study says. Exposed to millions of gallons of crude, young tuna and amberjack, some of the speediest predators in the ocean, developed heart defects that are likely to limit their ability to catch food.
The findings of the study, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have grim implications for the future of yellowfin and bluefin tuna, as well as amberjack, that were embryos, larvae or juveniles when the spill occurred during tuna-spawning season in the northern Gulf of Mexico in April 2010…
“They’re not going to be able to survive” as they develop into adult fish, said Nat Scholz, leader of the ecotoxicology program at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. “You’re going to be losing those fish from the adult spawning population.”…
NOAA’s study comes as BP has regained the ability to bid on federal oil and gas leases; the Environmental Protection Agency recently lifted a ban on the company. The oil giant filed a lawsuit in a Texas court last August, arguing it had been sufficiently punished for the spill…
Enjoy that seafood while you can, folks!