Gulf oil spill jitters: a false fish kill alarm - Los Angeles Times (blog)

Louisiana officials backed off alarms they had sounded Monday about a Gulf of Mexico fish kill , saying that the kill was far smaller than they had reported and was the result of low oxygen levels unrelated to the BP oil spill.

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A news release issued Monday by St. Bernard Parish had quoted Parish President Craig Taffaro saying, "By our estimates, there were thousands, and I'm talking about 5,000 to 15,000 dead fish." It also noted that a half-mile-long swirl of thick substance with several tar balls and a strong smell of diesel was discovered around Louisiana's Grassy Island. In a follow-up news release Tuesday, the Parish announced: "Biologists from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries conducted a thorough investigation of a fish kill found in the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) over the weekend. They found low oxygen levels to blame and have confirmed the kill is a result of natural events and is not associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  "High nutrient content from the Mississippi River in combination with seasonal occurrences have been the cause of hypoxic conditions for years. Although essential in fertilizing the estuaries, in some cases the nutrient load is too great and hypoxic conditions arise.  "Hypoxic events typically occur in late summer to fall and are also associated with processes that bring deep low-oxygen water to the surface. Fish need an oxygen level of at least three parts per million to survive.

Gulf oil spill jitters: a false fish kill alarm - Los Angeles Times (blog)