Fish Kill and BP Cover Up Confirmed on Grand Isle by Jerry Moran

In light of recent comments made by LDWF and NOAA biologists in an article on CNSNews.com that there is no evidence that ANY fish died as a result of the oil spill I feel compelled to revisit a few photos from the first days of the spill and to repost some information and photos gathered just this week by intrepid New Orleans photo-journalist Jerry Moran.  Jerry found the stench of death every where on Grand Isle, and mounds of dead fish buried in the sand by BP clean up crews, just this week!!!

First, lets look at what Bo Boehringer of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said," Fish have died for seasonal related reasons, said Bo Boehringer, spokesman Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.", and “We’ve investigated fish kills, but none have yet been tied to oil impacts,” 

Here are some photos from May 23rd on Grand Terre Island.  We encountered MANY dead large Redfish and Black Drum that day. All of these fish were still there when I revisited the island later that week, meaning NONE had been tested by LDWF.

There was no fishing, commercial or recreational going on at this time, and there was no unusually warm water to cause these fish to die, not to mention that they were covered in oil!!!

Now, here's a Bottle-nosed Dolphin found in the end of August by Darlene Eschete and the World Animal Awareness Society on Raccoon Island.  This animal was freshly dead at the time of their report, and when we re-found it there was a small circular chunk which looked like a sample taken from the neck.  Had the animal died from oil contamination it would not show up in the skin or fat, but in the lungs and internal organs.  NO effort was made to test for these on this animal, and it was tagged with LDWF in florescent paint and left to rot.

I dare say that this animal should have been brought in and had a full autopsy performed on it to determine the actual cause of death.  Incidents like this point to the fact that wildlife agencies charged with responding to this disaster have not lived up to expectations, and when we read that only 8,367 birds died due to this disaster we must question the reality of this number.

Now back to Grand Isle, this week!!!  Reports of dead fish everywhere on Grand Isle hit the internet and social media outlets last week.  They were largely Redfish and Black Drum, both bottom dwellers which are very unlikely to be affected by low oxygen levels due to warmer water.  

Here is Jerry Moran's report:

"All of these images were taken October 21, 2010 in the area of Latitude 29.199 N, Longitude 90.042 W.

For the first time in a few weeks, I headed out to Grand Isle, Louisiana – primarily to document cleanup progress that has – or has not – been made since the spill response began.

Earlier in the week, I received information regarding a possible fish kill around Grand Isle, which I confirmed to be true. My first stop was the west end of the island. Upon arrival, I did not see many dead fish, but while walking along the jetties, I was hit by an overpowering stench of death and decay. Back in May, I smelled this same scent and found a mound of buried bull redfish and dolphin, so I decided to go back to that same spot to check it out.

When I was about 10 yards from a recognizable mound of sand, I started hearing the unmistakable buzz of flies.

What I found was truly indescribable visually, I had never seen so many flies and the smell nearly brought me to my knees. There were at least 40 to 60 large redfish, drum – and who knows what else – under a BP “death mound” of sand in the exact same spot that I found the decapitated dolphin and bull redfish in May.

I find it very disturbing that BP cleanup crews are simply burying large numbers of dead fish and other marine life without letting anybody know.
 

There was also another death mound about 20 yards away closer to the beach at Latitude 29.199 N, Longitude 90.047 W. The media continues to consistently disregard or overlook these occurrences, reporting that everything is just fine in the Gulf. I know these reports are untrue, based on what I am finding six months after the spill.

Additionally, more evidence of land farming (or burying oil) on the west end of the island is seen in the images of the levee resembling the Grand Canyon rock strata, Latitude 29.195 N, Longitude 90.055 W.

Images at Latitude 29.266 N, Longitude 89.953 W are from the east end of the island behind State Park, which is still closed to the public. I couldn’t get to the beach, but I observed heavy machinery, and the constant and overpowering stench of death coming from the other side of the levee.

Comments

[Mac]

Thank you, Drew and Jerry! I too have smelled that death stench on GI and have discovered some mounds, perhaps they're in the same area?

Thanks again for keeping this fight alive!

[Angela]

Drew,

The worst, the absolute worst is coming true, isn't it? This is so disgusting and I can only imagine your own frustration.

You're doing the good work. I so appreciate your reports, photos and exposure of lies that continue to be told to an unsuspecting (?) public.

Take good care.

[Sisterbluebird]

So they doubled the Bird Kill numbers? For a while there a number just under 4,000 was being thrown about. I found that laughable--I mean seriously, the entire gulf region, affected not only by oil but corexit, sprayed subsurface and from the air, airborn mists of the compound formed by the two, and gods know what else has been released in that water, and less than 4,000 birds died in that entire area, during nesting season? And now the Fish thing. Thank you for covering this story by the way. I have nothing civilized left to say about the whole affair, so with gratitude,

[Sisterbluebird]

Also, when BP goes to court, I suggest that you create an Amicus Brief {I think that is what it is called} and include these photographs and accounts and dates/locations etc., because in the Huffington Post, Jerry Cope reported that BP employees were decapitating and burrying wildlife and since they get charged for every carcass, there is a--ahem--financial incentive for them to do so. I would pass that on to others with similar documentation. Just look up Crime of the Century on the HuffingtonPost.

[Gulf Shores Fisherman]

Truly devastating and horrific to our sea life here along the coast. I don't remember seeing this in any of the local papers.