A 1960 newsreel proves that Louisiana oysters thrive on oil

admin · 04-03-2012, 01:31 PM

The Political Desk has unearthed a real gem ? a 1960 "public information service" newsreel by the American Petroleum Institute, which debunks the crazy theory that the oil industry might have some deleterious effect on the Louisiana oyster population ... as proven with a "two-million-dollar oyster research program!".

Back then, something was retarding the growth of oysters in the Gulf, so oil company scientists put some oysters in a tank and fed them a diet of crude oil and other gunk.? [ Read more ]

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dam1953 · 04-03-2012, 02:18 PM

Well, it is highly unlikely that oysters feed on oil but a wide variety of microbes do. Since oysters are filter feeders the microbes that grow on the oil eventually become food for higher life forms such as oysters.

As bad as the immediate impact of the Deep Water Horizon disaster was, in years to come the tons of oil currently residing in the gulf's floor will slowly make it's way into the food chain and there could be a corresponding fishing boom.

04-03-2012, 01:31 PM	#1
admin Site Admin Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Orleans Posts: 11,971 Blog Entries: 2	A 1960 newsreel proves that Louisiana oysters thrive on oil The Political Desk has unearthed a real gem ? a 1960 "public information service" newsreel by the American Petroleum Institute, which debunks the crazy theory that the oil industry might have some deleterious effect on the Louisiana oyster population ... as proven with a "two-million-dollar oyster research program!". Back then, something was retarding the growth of oysters in the Gulf, so oil company scientists put some oysters in a tank and fed them a diet of crude oil and other gunk.? [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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04-03-2012, 02:18 PM	#2
dam1953 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 4,645	Well, it is highly unlikely that oysters feed on oil but a wide variety of microbes do. Since oysters are filter feeders the microbes that grow on the oil eventually become food for higher life forms such as oysters. As bad as the immediate impact of the Deep Water Horizon disaster was, in years to come the tons of oil currently residing in the gulf's floor will slowly make it's way into the food chain and there could be a corresponding fishing boom.