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Gulf Spill Impacts Not Expected,
but Precautions Being Taken
By Ruth Bryant and Leah Robins
Boston- As
the oil spill continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexico, Representative
Dykema and fellow members of the Joint Committee on the Environment,
Natural Resources and Agriculture heard testimony this week from expert
witnesses on the spill's potential to affect our coastline and seafood
industry.
The
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is leading our
state efforts to respond to the oil spill and is in frequent contact
with other northeastern states and the federal government to ensure
that we are prepared with the most up to date information.
Seafood
safety is a priority for Massachusetts. The FDA assures that no
contaminated product has made it to markets and seafood will continue
to be closely monitored for any affects of the oil spill. Ongoing
public health inspections in the Gulf and in Massachusetts are the
result of close collaboration with the Department of
Public Health, the Department of Marine Fisheries and the Food and Drug
Administration. More information about the monitoring of seafood can
be found on the FDA's website.
Understanding the importance of the marine industry to Massachusetts,
certain types of fish, including Blue Fin Tuna, that spawn in the Gulf
before migrating north, are under particular watch. According to the
Department of Marine Fisheries, this not expected to have a significant
impact on the fishing industry of Massachusetts.
Experts
from Energy and Environmental Affairs emphasized that the oil spill is
not expected to reach beyond North Carolina. Due to the loop current,
the oil is expected to travel east after North Carolina rather than
further north along the coast. In the unlikely event that any of the
oil spill does reach Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection, has prepared containment and environment
protection processes that have been established to quickly
respond-including the use of maps that identify our sensitive resources
that need the upmost protection and precautionary response trailers
along our coastlines. These tools come after the hard-learned lessons
from oil spills in Buzzards Bay.
More
information on the Gulf oil spill and how it is affecting both the
nation and Massachusetts can be found by visiting the websites of
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). You can also track the command post and get text message updates on topics like fishing and wildlife concerns.
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