Rumors the Gulf of Mexico and its critters have been harmed by pollution washing into the sea after Hurricane Katrina's deadly landfall more than a month ago are untrue, so far, according to two government agencies.
DESTIN, Fla. — Rumors the Gulf of Mexico and its critters have been harmed by pollution washing into the sea after Hurricane Katrina's deadly landfall more than a month ago are untrue, so far, according to two government agencies.
Monitoring continues, but scientists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have found little evidence Katrina produced an environmental catastrophe in the gulf.
Conservation commission researchers, among others, sampled water at seven spots off Panama City in mid-September.
"We found out, at that point and time, the water was normal," said conservation commission spokesman and biologist Willie Puz. He added the agency hopes to take part with NOAA in upcoming research trips.
Taking surface and near-bottom water samples, as well as sediment from the seafloor, the conservation commission found expected levels of, among other pollutants, mercury, pesticides and nutrients such as phosphorous.
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The samplings happened about two weeks after Katrina's Aug. 29 landfall at points west.
"We were looking at water currents at that time and it looked like the currents were moving along the North Florida coast," Puz explained.
NOAA plans to release results of tests checking for dangerous contaminants DDT and PCBs, as well as troublesome bacteria such as E. coli, shortly. It used 13 sampling sites from south of Pensacola to the Mississippi River delta in Louisiana.
The federal agency has already posted results of its first Katrina gulf survey, which focused on oil compounds.
Sampling bile from Atlantic croakers and a juvenile bigeye tuna, NOAA researchers concluded the fish showed no "elevated exposure" to oil or petroleum pollution.
Scientists also reported little or no debris in the water, though it remains a hazard to watch for, a Destin charter boat crewman indicated.
Pescador III went out about three days after Katrina passed and has fished plenty since.
"There's been lumber and stuff like that," said Inan Smith, first mate aboard the boat. "Big pilings that you could barely see."
Other floating obstacles included trash cans and a capsized boat.
"We saw debris out there," Smith continued. "It came off, mostly, beach houses ... You just had to watch where you were going."
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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
