Tarballs showed up at Key West beaches as a preview of coming attractions for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said traces of the BP oil leak are starting within the Gulf of Mexico loop current, which could carry the oil spill to Florida in 10 days. Tarball and loop current news isn’t really helping the hotels and fishing boats within the gulf, who are battling public perception that the region is covered in oil. Meanwhile, hurricane season begins June 1.
Article Resource: Key West tarballs not from gulf, but BP oil leak heads to Florida
Key West tarballs – false alarm
As the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico is denying any effort by BP to stop it, "Tarballs at Key West" has been a major headline. Evidently, the Coast Guard said the Key West tarballs didn't even come from the BP oil leak. But despite the fact that little of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has actually reached landfall to date, media coverage of the disaster is threatening to devastate the Gulf Coast tourism and the seafood industry. A region getting by on no fax cash advance was anticipating a complete return to pre-Katrina prosperity in 2010, but the oil spill showed up right before an additional hurricane season officially starts on June 1.
Key West tarballs a bad omen
The Tarballs at Key West didn’t really come from the gulf oil spill, but the BP oil leak might be arriving on Florida’s shores eventually. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, a Coast Guard analysis determined conclusively that the Key West tar balls do not match the type of oil from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010. Unfortunately, traces of the BP oil leak have started to enter the Gulf of Mexico loop current, which is a powerful stream of warm water that circulates in and around the gulf, then south to the Florida Keys and the Gulf Stream.
Seafood industry devastated by BP oil leak
The oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico is putting tens of thousands of Gulf Coast business owners’ and workers’ livelihoods at risk. Because of the BP oil leak, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expanded a fishing ban within the Gulf. Nearly doubling the size of waters prohibited to the region's $2.4 billion seafood industry, the banned area covers 19 percent of the gulf. USA Today reports that Bayou La Batre, Ala., the “Seafood Capitol of Alabama,” has nearly come to a standstill as shrimping vessels that have nothing to do pack the bayou and leave. This shortage of areas to fish in make shrimp supplies limited, increasing prices.
Key west tarballs actually undermine Florida tourism
The tarballs at Key West were sticky blobs of congealed oil that occasionally turn up on beaches there. They form from oil dumped from ships’ bilges, leaks from offshore rigs and seepage from other oil wells. Even so, the New York Times reports that under normal circumstances, hotels within the Florida Panhandle would be fully booked by now for Memorial Day weekend — which is the traditional start of the peak summer tourism season. Since the BP oil leak, plenty of rooms are accessible. Florida’s department of tourism is fighting against the BP oil leak with data about Florida's destinations on its Web site with beach Webcams, Twitter feeds and photos. Gov. Charlie Crist said he had $25 million from BP to fund the tourism advertising campaign after an original $25 million went to disaster preparation and response.
Gulf of Mexico and loop current
The tarballs that showed up at Key West can be a preview of the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico for Florida beaches. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Jane Lubchenco told the Associated Press that aerial surveys show some tendrils of light oil close to or already in the loop current, but the majority of the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico remained dozens of miles away from the current as of Wednesday. Lubchenco also states that eight to ten days following the oil enters the loop current is when the oil might hit Florida. Scientists from the University of South Florida say that by Sunday it could have reached Key West.
Read a lot more on this topic here
USA Today reports
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-05-13-gulfecon13_CV_N.htm
New York Times reports
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/science/earth/20tourism.html?ref=us
Associated Press
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/17/coast-guard-tar-balls-key-west/
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