Spill may cut into N.E. bluefin catch

Oil could harm spawning sites

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. — The fate of one of New England’s most prized fish may be unfolding more than a thousand miles away in the Gulf of Mexico.

Bluefin tuna — so desired by sushi devotees that a single giant fish fetches thousands of dollars — are believed to spawn off the United States only in the Gulf and mostly during April and May. This year, both coincided with the worst oil spill in the nation’s history.

As oil gushes up from the seabed and spreads, scientists are studying whether bluefin larvae the size of a pencil tip will survive the leak. The answer could have important consequences for New England, where many of the tuna migrate each year and where bluefin fishing season opened yesterday.

“I suspect the larvae and eggs won’t be able to escape if they [encounter] oil,’’ said Jim Franks, senior scientist at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. To read more  http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/06/02/gulf_oil_spill_may_harm_new_englands_bluefin_catch/

Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Beth Daley-Globe Staff