After years of decline, the Florida Keys tarpon fishery is having an extraordinary year. This may be a consequence of the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. An Islamorada press release from the Don Hawley Invitational Tarpon Tournament reports, "Twenty-five boats landed an amazing all time tournament high 218 tarpon of four feet in length or over, in five days of explosive fishing, blowing away the Hawley's 36 year record. "
Tarpon are a migratory species that traverse the Gulf of Mexico from Central America, through the Keys, and up the Southeast coast. An AP report yesterday: "Dolphins and sharks are showing up in surprisingly shallow water just off the Florida coast. Mullets, crabs, rays and small fish congregate by the thousands off an Alabama pier. Birds covered in oil are crawling deep into marshes, never to be seen again. Marine scientists studying the effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are seeing some strange -- and troubling -- phenomena... The animals' presence close to shore means their usual habitat is badly polluted, and the crowding could result in mass die-offs as fish run out of oxygen. Also, the animals could easily get devoured by predators. "A parallel would be: Why are the wildlife running to the edge of a forest on fire? There will be a lot of fish, sharks, turtles trying to get out of this water they detect is not suitable," said Larry Crowder, a Duke University marine biologist." (Sea creatures flee oil spill, gather near shore of Gulf of Mexico", AP, June 16, 2010)
The forest fire is a good analogy. Migratory species like tarpon will react to trace changes in water quality. They didn't survive for a million years by swimming into danger. It will not require the presence of oil globs to drive life away from the Gulf of Mexico. Like the response of deer to whisps of smoke, the fish will flee toxicity measured in parts per million. Who is against the precautionary principle, now?
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From wikipedia: "The precautionary principle states that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking the action."
From experience: The American capitalist principle states that if an action or policy has broad popular support and the potential to benefit the public or the environment, wealthy corporate elites dispatch lobbyists to complain that the action or policy is harmful to their selfish interests, and shift the burden of proof that it is not harmful onto their enablers in Congress, who quickly abandon the action or policy in return for corporate donations.
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