The random things in life

Depending on the species, fish release eggs that then are fertilized and float at or near the surface for 20 to 40 hours before they hatch. The newly hatched fish live as larvae at or near the surface for another 20 to 50 days. Oil can rupture gills and degrade the skin of fish larvae and rupture the membranes of microscopic plankton that fish rely on for food.What’s worse, scientists can’t say for sure how the chemical dispersants being sprayed on the slick will affect marine life.

The dispersants break the slick into tinier droplets that degrade more easily but those droplets can be more easily taken up by fish.  So far, more than 475,000 gallons of dispersant have been used to try to reduce the amount of oil that would reach fragile marshes and beaches. After their larval stage, fish become bottom dwellers in sea grass beds, coral reefs and other hard bottoms. The fewer fish that survive the larval stage, the fewer adult fish swimming around to catch for years later.

This indicates to me that a major event like this in the Gulf of Mexico is going to have long-term effects on fisheries. The spill is likely to set back progress of plans to rebuild fish stocks so they no longer are overfished.