BP under fire over fish

From The Sun (UK Newspaper)
BP under fire over fish

BP has come under fire yet again after these gruesome images emerged of hundreds of thousands of dead fish in a river in the US.
Wildlife officials have launched a major operation to find the cause of the "fish kill" after oil was spotted in the grisly photos.

The dead fish were found near the mouth of the Mississippi River — an area heavily affected by the BP oil spill.

Scientists had previously cleared the oil company of any blame saying the horror was caused by depleted oxygen levels.

But officials from Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish — where the fish were found — claim traces of oil can be seen in the photos.

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser called for "extensive testing" to be carried out on the dead fish.

Mr Nungesser said: "We can't continue to see these fish kills.

"We need some additional tests to find out why these fish are dying in large numbers.

"If it is low oxygen, we need to identify the cause."

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The types of fish affected include pogies, redfish, drum, crabs, shrimp and freshwater eel.

A dead baby whale was also found close to the site earlier this week.

BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of southern Lousiana in April killing 11 people and leaking about 4.9million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Environmental scientist Ed Overton said warm temperatures can drain oxygen from water and cause fish kills.

Mr Overton said: "It is improbable, not impossible, that this is the result of oil toxicity."