Science Features

Gulf Coast caution: 'We know it's not over'

By Frank Brandmaier Aug 7, 2010, 15:14 GMT

Absorbent boom soaked in oil failed to protect fragile coastal wetlands from BP\'s blown out Deepwater Horizon well in Pass A Loutre, Louisiana, USA, 22 May 2010. EPA/BEVIL KNAPP

Grand Isle, Louisiana - Pearls of sweat shine on Buggy Vegas' tanned face, his T-shirt is soaked in the 39-degree Celsius air, and the summer sun turns the Mississippi Delta into a greenhouse - but his blue eyes look happy.

Over the past few days, fishing has once again been allowed in waters off Grand Isle in southern Louisiana, as oil giant BP Plc has kept its ruptured oil well sealed since July 15.

'This was the first weekend when everybody went fishing,' says Vegas, chef at the Bridge Side Marina, which sells bait and has 70 mooring spaces plus a restaurant and hotel.

The mood is good, he says with a laugh. Immediately, his clear eyes get more serious: 'But we know it's not over.'

Grand Isle's empty beach testifies to the problems that remain: the place where thousands of tourists are usually baking in the August sun now looks more like a huge construction site. As far as the eye can see, red tape cuts off the path to the sea. There are rubble containers, portable toilets and pick-up trucks.

The beaches in Grand Isle - a community with little commerce beyond fishing and tourism - were among the first that the brown muck reached.

The island continues to look like a ghost town, and holiday homes are boarded up. One house right on the water has the name Mama-Pappy- Dream written on a sign, and someone has nailed on extra words: 'The dream is over.'

At the moment, participants in the fight against the oil leak remain the best customers for restaurants and shops alike.

'We are not concerned about the seafood,' says Buggy Vegas. 'We went out and didn't see a single dead fish. We caught shrimp an ate it - everything OK.'

What scares him is the fate of the vulnerable marshland. He fears that a hurricane may push the oil deep into the coastal ecosystem, killing the islands of grass in the delta's breathtaking setting.

At the moment, scientists can only speculate about the risks that persist from the biggest-ever accident oil spill of some 4.9 million barrels over nearly three months.

The temporary cap installed last month on the well has been replaced by a concrete plug. But the fear remains of further long- term consequences and not just among fishermen and shrimpers along the Gulf Coast.

'Less oil on the surface does not mean that there isn't oil beneath the surface, however, or that our beaches or marshes are not still at risk,' said Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 'We are extremely concerned about the short-term and long-term impacts to the Gulf ecosystem.'

Others are more hopeful.

'I'm optimistic that the region will recover,' said one government expert who has been active in the fight against the leak, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

The disaster in the Gulf cannot be compared to the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska, he says. In the Gulf of Mexico, the water is very warm and bacteria break down the oil. For this government expert, tests have so far shown that these microscopic assistants' supply of oxygen and nutrients have hardly been affected by the disaster.

But he remains cautious: 'The whole Gulf hasn't been tested yet.'

Buggy Vegas knows that Grand Isle still faces challenges on the road back to normality, even if some tanned anglers are back on his docks with toasting with cans of beer to a successful fishing outing.

He is convinced that tourists from nearby will be back soon: 'The out-of-state tourists, that's what we're concerned about.'

Will Grand Isle ever be the same? Vegas says yes: 'If they stop the well, if they continue to clean up, if there's no hurricane. By next summer, it should be back on.

But he does not sound quite convinced: 'It's not over.'