AOL News Surge Desk (Sept. 16) --
BP is behind the worst accidental oil spill in history, and is thus responsible for the deaths of much affected animal life in the Gulf of Mexico. But the latest gruesome fish kill? Don't count on it.
Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries determined that rising temperatures and low tide caused the low oxygen levels that led to the mass suffocation of more than 100,000 fish in the Bayou Chaland in Plaquemines Parish, La., last week. According to The Associated Press, department spokeswoman Olivia Watkins outlined the scientific explanation for the fish kill and explained that the incident was unrelated to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
P. J. Hahn, Plaquemines Parish Coastal Zone Management"When the tide is low, it becomes a pool," Watkins said. "We had a low tide and all the fish got trapped."
The massive fish kill of pogie, redfish, shrimp, crabs, freshwater eel and even a dolphin was first spotted by residents Friday evening. Because there were so many silvery carcasses lined up one after another, many described the resulting scene as reminiscent of a gravel road.
Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says rising temperatures and low tide caused the low oxygen levels that led to the suffocation of more than 100,000 fish in the Bayou Chaland in Plaquemines Parish, La., shown here Friday.
Predictably, because of the bayou's proximity to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP was initially blamed for the carnage. But reports also acknowledged the region's precedent of similar fish kills that typically occur during the late summer and early fall, although scarcely so dramatic and with such high body counts.
However, the northern Gulf of Mexico is considered the largest "dead zone" for fish kills caused by low oxygen levels in the water, a phenomenon technically known as hypoxia. So while pointing the finger at BP seemed like a natural reflex considering the location of the fish kill, the hypoxia explanation was also a legitimate theory from the start. Read next Blog for full report on hypoxia
