Thursday, May 6, 2010

Bluefin Tuna and the Oil Spill

A story I just wrote about a fish that won't fare as well as the title character in my book:

The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could not have happened at a worse time, or in a worse spot, for the Atlantic bluefin tuna. More than 600 species are considered to be at risk due to the sunken rig, which is gushing oil into the water at a rate of 210,000 gallons per day. But this is an especially sensitive period for the bluefin.

"The giant bluefin only show up for about a month, and this is the time they show up," Stanford University marine biologist Barbara Block told AOL News. "Bluefin tuna are moving to the Gulf of Mexico exactly right now to spawn." Plus, she said, the spill is centered around one of the preferred breeding areas. "Many of the tuna go exactly to that region."

Read the rest at AOL News.

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