If the temperatures in the South are any indication, summer is on its way. College students are completing finals and schoolchildren are finishing their last few weeks until they are free. In many cases, this means one thing: it's time to head to the beach.
If the Gulf coast is your destination of choice, because of last year's
Deepwater Horizon oil spill , being able to enjoy some fresh seafood while on vacation may be a concern. But, one
University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher says this shouldn't be a worry.
And Gohlke knows for sure that the seafood is safe, as she recently served as head author for a review of federal tests of seafood in the Gulf, with samples taken from contaminated waters off the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coastlines. The concern was that levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pollutants that occur in oil and tar deposits and are carcinogenic, would be making the marine life unsafe to eat, but what they found was the numbers confirm the seafood is safe. While Gohlke did find it surprising that the PAHs detected were so low, she understands why.
"We know the warm waters in the Gulf and the use of dispersants may have contributed to what we're seeing now. Breaking down the oil is much faster in warm water," explains Gohlke.
And while the fish and shrimp and other ocean edibles are safe to eat for now, Gohlke says the reviewers all recommend future testing.
"The oil spill is so unique in the sense of it took place in very deep water and many dispersants were used, so there could still be oil on the sea floor and it could still work its way up the food chain and so we would advocate for long-term monitoring of both PAHs and metals."
Recommendations were made based off of an analysis of previous oil spills and findings that came out of those oil spills about seafood contamination, the duration of that contamination and the specific contaminants of concern. Funding was provided by the
Walton Family Foundation , created by the family of the founder of
Wal-Mart .
Gohlke confirms she is also working on other independent testing projects in the Gulf. She says red snapper and grouper fisherman have developed a program that provides tracking information for the fish they catch, in hopes of further increasing consumer confidence.
"We're providing the analysis of the testing and developing testing of our own to compare it to other protein sources, like chicken or beef. We're looking at these alternative proteins to see if they are better. We would expect to find at least low levels of PAHs in them as well. Living close to an expressway you are exposed to diesel and fuel exhaust, which contain PAHs. PAHs are not unique to an oil spill; you can expect to find them in a lot of foods, especially those cooked at high temperatures."
So there you go. Gulf seafood is safe for your eating enjoyment. So as you head to the beach in the coming months and are in the mood for some seafood, eat up! And be sure to bring some back for us as well. I like oysters.
If the Gulf coast is your destination of choice, because of last year's Deepwater Horizon oil spill , being able to enjoy some fresh seafood while on vacation may be a concern. But, one University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher says this shouldn't be a worry.
And while the fish and shrimp and other ocean edibles are safe to eat for now, Gohlke says the reviewers all recommend future testing.
Gohlke confirms she is also working on other independent testing projects in the Gulf. She says red snapper and grouper fisherman have developed a program that provides tracking information for the fish they catch, in hopes of further increasing consumer confidence.
So there you go. Gulf seafood is safe for your eating enjoyment. So as you head to the beach in the coming months and are in the mood for some seafood, eat up! And be sure to bring some back for us as well. I like oysters.