IN reporter J. Adam Morrison tracked down Dr. Jim Cowan, who has been researching the mysteriously lesions found of Gulf fish. Here is the story Morrison turned in:
The tourists seem to be back. The beach is beautiful. The federal government has discontinued fishing closures, and the seafood is fine.
“I can tell you, the fishing’s good,†Florida Gov. Rick Scott recently told people gathered in Pensacola for a Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force meeting.
The Governor said he marked the anniversary of the spill catching redfish in the Gulf. But Scott must not have been hitting the same spots as Jim Cowan, professor and researcher with Louisiana State University’s Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences.
“We’ve been seeing it for months,†Cowan said.
The LSU scientist reports finding fish in the Gulf with lesions and liver issues. Not the sort of catch to brag about or throw on the dinner table.
“I’ve seen vermilion snapper with lumps on them the size of a baseball,†Cowan said.
The Professor’s reports are noticeably different than those from the government. A week before the June opening of Red Snapper season, however, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration did concede that fishermen should keep an eye open for any irregularities.
“If you do catch fish with lesions on them, you know, be careful,†said NOAA’s Dr. Walt Dickhoff.
While acknowledging reports from the academic community, Dickhoff said he saw no cause for alarm — “it looks like the normal kind of lesions†— and maintained Gulf seafood is safe to eat. He said NOAA is conducting extensive testing and has yet to find anything of concern.
Cowan first started seeing sick fish earlier this year when fishermen began bringing him their questionable catches. The specimen featured lesions in various stages. Some were only spots, with the tissue beneath soft to the touch, others were open wounds.
“I’d never seen anything like I was seeing,†Cowan said. “So, we became concerned.â€
Most of the reports of sick fish were coming from an area of the Gulf stretching from Mobile Bay to Panama City. In an effort to get better samples — specifically, fresher specimen — Cowan went fishing.
Of the roughly 300 fish caught, the LSU researcher estimates that about 10 percent showed signs of lesions or liver damage. Cowan said he did not know the cause, and could not link the sick fish directly to the oil spill.
“We just know there’s a problem,†he said.
Other members of the academic community are also emerging from their Gulf ventures with disturbing reports. Locally, University of West Florida biologist Will Patterson is also reporting sick snapper. At the Florida Institute of Oceanography recently, researcher Graham Worthy told colleagues that either oil or chemical dispersants could have interrupted the food chain and led to the high number of dolphin deaths this past year.
In Gulf Breeze, marine biologist Heather Reed is working with the local fishing community. She’s asking them to bring her any questionable fish so that she might conduct further research.
“It may be bad,†Reed said, “It may not be bad.â€
Cowan decided to go public with what he was seeing because of public safety concerns. Handling the sick fish can be dangerous. Anglers should specifically watch out for fish infected with Vibrio vulnificus or, the more threatening Photobacterium damselae.
While these two forms of bacteria are common in Gulf waters, fish are normally able to fight them off.
“The real mystery is, the pathogens are in the Gulf all the time,†Cowan said. “The real issue becomes, why are these fish being susceptible to these pathogens when they wouldn’t ordinarily?â€
If handled, infected fish could pose health risks to humans. Cowan suggested avoiding such.
“I would recommend just taking a pair of pliers and clipping the hook,†he said.
The Louisiana scientist invited some folks from BP out fishing recently. He said they acknowledged there may be something going on, but stressed that there wasn’t a connection with the oil spill.
“They’re aware of the sensitivity of the issue,†Cowan said.