[TigersEye]

Nature healed what man inflicted in 1979 Gulf spill Read more: June 10, 2010

" "A lot of the fishermen around here will tell you that the fish never came back,'' says Vega Morales. ``They'll say, `Oh, in the old days, you could catch fish with your hat, it was so easy.' That's how we are, always talking about the one that got away. But the truth is, after maybe nine months or so, it was back to normal." " (Ixtoc 1)

"Soto, who followed the fish and shrimp population off Mexico closely, found to his surprise that for most species the numbers had returned to normal within two years."

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Oil Cleanup Expert Comments on Gulf Spill

"Every year 2 million to 12 million tons of oil naturally seep from the ocean floor and into the sea. In fact, many of the deposits in the Gulf of Mexico were discovered by observing these oil seeps, which is why the hydrocarbon degraders are everywhere, waiting for their “dinner” or fuel. Fishermen should be prepared for the extra catches that are coming because after every major oil spill there’s an explosion of local fish."

"But before a fish explosion can happen, the microorganisms need to be able to get to the oil and digest it. Since oil and water don’t mix, adding a dispersant will accelerate the breakdown of the oil, making it more available to the microorganisms."

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1979's Ixtoc oil well blowout in Gulf of Mexico has startling parallels to current disaster

"Even with those obstacles, fishers still managed to amass an impressive catch in 1979 -- when oil was gushing into the Gulf."

"Researchers in Campeche found shrimping that year enjoyed a high. The total tonnage of seafood caught in the Gulf of Mexico grew by 5.9 percent compared with the previous 12 months, and octopus capture in the Bay of Campeche beat the previous record by 50 percent."

"Tunnell's follow-up research into life near Texas beaches showed that organisms whose populations were apparently reduced by the massive spill replenished themselves within a few years."

[sinanju]

Yup, it looks like the Gulf is a special case, as the waters are warm and the continual natural oil seepage over the eons has made for especially voracious oil-chomping bacteria.

And yes, the Gulf recovered amazingly fast from the IXTOC I blowout in ‘79. Not much in the way of chest-beating theatrics as I recall, as Mexico made plain from the start it wasn’t going to pay a dime in compensation to anyone.