Numerous tar ball and oil sheen sightings from the BP oil spill have been reported in the close vicinity of the Pensacola, Florida coastline. A situation report released at 12 p.m. on Tuesday June 2 by Deepwater Horizon said the primary oil plume was 35 miles from Pensacola.
The report found no large impacts are expected from the oil spill on Florida within the next 72 hours. However, it warned of forecast increased winds and showers across the Northern-Central Gulf of Mexico on Friday and a 50 to 70 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. The report warns that such tumultuous weather can hamper surface oil recovery operations and oil spill cleanup efforts.
This could mean very bad news for businesses on the Pensacola part of the Gulf who have already witnessed a 20 to 25 percent drop in tourism and higher prices for their seafood supplies.
Earlier today, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist asked secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Gary Locke to officially recognize a commercial fishery failure in Florida under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. He pointed to the recent expansion of fishery closures to snapper and grouper species off the West coast of Florida.
In an interview with Sam Camariotes, owner of Sam’s Seafood and Steaks in Pensacola, Florida, on Monday, he expressed his worries about the expansion of the oil spill, saying, “If they don’t stop the thing, it’ll be something terrible.” The oil sheen sightings from today suggest even worse news for Camariotes whose business has already been suffering from rising shrimp and oyster prices.
With the failure of BP’s top hat, top kill, and junkshot approaches, it remains to be seen whether the last ditch effort to cap the oil spill will be successful. The new approach, called the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP), will use robots to make a clean cut in the damaged pipe and attach another pipe to divert and thus control the oil through the newly added pipe.
If this last effort fails, the oil spill could become worse as a new cut would increase the rate of flow.
The report found no large impacts are expected from the oil spill on Florida within the next 72 hours. However, it warned of forecast increased winds and showers across the Northern-Central Gulf of Mexico on Friday and a 50 to 70 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. The report warns that such tumultuous weather can hamper surface oil recovery operations and oil spill cleanup efforts.
This could mean very bad news for businesses on the Pensacola part of the Gulf who have already witnessed a 20 to 25 percent drop in tourism and higher prices for their seafood supplies.
Earlier today, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist asked secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Gary Locke to officially recognize a commercial fishery failure in Florida under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. He pointed to the recent expansion of fishery closures to snapper and grouper species off the West coast of Florida.
In an interview with Sam Camariotes, owner of Sam’s Seafood and Steaks in Pensacola, Florida, on Monday, he expressed his worries about the expansion of the oil spill, saying, “If they don’t stop the thing, it’ll be something terrible.” The oil sheen sightings from today suggest even worse news for Camariotes whose business has already been suffering from rising shrimp and oyster prices.
With the failure of BP’s top hat, top kill, and junkshot approaches, it remains to be seen whether the last ditch effort to cap the oil spill will be successful. The new approach, called the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP), will use robots to make a clean cut in the damaged pipe and attach another pipe to divert and thus control the oil through the newly added pipe.
If this last effort fails, the oil spill could become worse as a new cut would increase the rate of flow.
