The study found damage has occurred to the reproductive functions of Killifish from exposure to toxic chemicals found in oil released after the BP disaster, which spewed 4.9 million barrels off the coast of Louisiana in 2010.
The adult fish sampled in situ from the oil-contaminated GT site showed divergent regulation of several genes involved in blood vessel morphogenesis and heme metabolism coincident with oil contamination.In 2010 New Zealand fishing exports of Hoki earned $172m, Lobster exports $229m and Mussel exports $171m. In fact the fishing industry in New Zealand earns well over $1.3 billion a year in exports.
This is yet another good reason to not undertake exploration for oil in deep water off our coasts. The consequences of an oil spill on our productive fishing industry, should not be underestimated.
