Mississippi River Brimming with Dead Fish Near Gulf of Mexico

Photo via NOLA

This was on treehugger. -Rick

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/09/river-dead-fish-clogs-mississipp...

At first glance, you might not even notice the dead fish in the
picture above -- there are too many of them. But no, that's not a
gravely parking lot. It's a section of the Mississippi River that has
been clogged with thousands of dead fish in the wake of the BP Gulf spill.
And while investigation as to the cause of the mass fish kill is still
underway, there are fears that new toxins in the water from spilled oil
or chemical dispersants have played a role.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune,
the fish were found and photographed in a bayou on the west side of the
Mississippi late last week, in the Plaquemines Parish of Louisiana.
Plaquemines was one of the earliest areas to be impacted by the BP Gulf
spill, and it was also one of the heaviest hit. Now, this happening with
alarming frequency:

From the Times-Picayune:

Plaquemines
Parish officials have asked state wildlife officials to investigate
what they said is a massive fish kill at Bayou Chaland on the west side
of the Mississippi River late Friday.

The fish kill was reported to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife
& Fisheries and the cause has not yet been determined, the parish
said. The fish were found in an area that has been impacted by the oil
from the BP oil spill, the parish said ... The dead fish include pogies,
redfish, drum, crabs, shrimp and freshwater eel, the parish said.

Other
recent mass fish kills have been attributed to low levels of oxygen in
the water, but parish officials are eager to know what exactly is
causing those abnormally low levels.

It's just another reminder -- as if we needed another one -- that the BP spill is far, far from over.

UPDATE: A local news agency did a segment on the story today (and may
or may not have used this post as inspiration...), and the video is
very much worth watching:

More on the BP Gulf Spill