Wildlife in the Gulf is still struggling, full recovery is years, maybe decades away

Apr 10, 2014 19:51 GMT  ·  By
Report says the Gulf of Mexico is yet to recover from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster
   Report says the Gulf of Mexico is yet to recover from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster

Back in 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred, about 200 million gallons (roughly 750 million liters) of oil worked their way into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the fact that this major BP oil spill took place four years ago, a new report says that wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico is yet to recover from this catastrophe.

The report in question is authored by specialists working with the National Wildlife Federation and was shared with the public this past Tuesday. According to its findings, at least 14 species in the Gulf of Mexico still display symptoms associated to oil exposure.

The Guardian informs that, of these 14 species, bottlenose dolphins swimming in said waters appear to have been hit the hardest by the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. It is said that, since the catastrophe occurred, some 900 such marine mammals have been discovered either dead or stranded in the oil spill area.

The National Wildlife Federation maintains that the number of dolphins that were found stranded in this part of the United States back in 2013 was about three times higher than the average documented before the spill, and that it is possible that this increase in the number of dolphin strandings is an effect of the 2010 BP disaster.

In its report, the Federation goes on to detail that, according to evidence at hand, sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico are also yet to recover from the Deepwater Horizon incident. Thus, the group claims that, since the spill, the number of sea turtles strandings in the area has also increased.

More precisely, it is argued that, since the spill, some 500 dead sea turtles have been discovered in the region affected by the oil spill on a yearly basis. The National Wildlife Federation maintains that, when compared to normal rates, this number represents a dramatic increase.

The group adds that loons that winter on the Louisiana coast have been documented to have increasing concentrations of harmful oil compounds in their blood, and that sperm whales in the Gulf have been shown to have higher levels of DNA-damaging metals than marine mammals of the same species swimming in other parts of the world.

In light of these findings, the National Wildlife Federation argues that it will probably be years, maybe even more, until wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico fully recovers from the effects of the 2010 BP oil spill. “The Deepwater Horizon disaster on the Gulf ecosystem will likely unfold for years or even decades,” the group says.

“It is essential that careful monitoring of the Gulf ecosystem continue and that mitigation of damages and restoration of degraded and weakened ecosystems begin as soon as possible,” the National Wildlife Federation further argues.

Interestingly enough, it would appear that oil and gas giant BP is no stranger to the findings of this report. However, the company argues that the group's claims are not true to facts, and that “The National Wildlife Federation report is a piece of political advocacy – not science. It cherry picks reports to support the organization's agenda.”