Deformities originally found on shrimp and lobsters have eased up, but not on crabs. According to Darryl Felder, a University of Louisiana biologist, “People are bringing in (crabs) that are really messed up. The crab catches are really down and what they’re getting have big lesions on them – lesions and fungal or bacterial infections.”
“The fishing’s pretty good,” said Bob Spaeth, Southern Offshore Fisheries Association president. “But our biggest concern is the future. We’re worried about egg-bearing because of chemically altered genetics of some of the fish. We aren’t sure what the larvae are going to turn out like.” He’s particularly worried about what will happen four to five years from now, when a generation of fish of certain sizes might turn out to be missing due to oil-related diseases. “if we lose two or three years of sizes then the fisheries will collapse and we’ll have to shut down,” Spaeth said. “And that would affect all fisheries, both commercial and recreational.”
Read the whole article from Seafoodnews.com April 16 – 2013
Related article here.