US reopens vast expanse of Gulf for fishing, but experts stress caution on seafood

[no_hypocrisy]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/reopens-vast-area-gulf-fishing-experts-stress-caution-seafood/

A massive area in the Gulf of Mexico totaling about 30 percent of federal water closed after BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster has been reopened for commercial and recreational fishing, the US government announced Friday.

But the news is not entirely good for America's fishermen or seafood connoisseurs.

While authorities cited tests showing seafood caught along the coasts of Florida and Alabama found no obvious oil, dispersant or chemical smell, experts say the tests did not search for toxic heavy metals which can bioaccumulate up the food chain after major disasters like an oil spill.

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To make matters worse for Gulf fishermen, activists have claimed that many who live from catch to catch are being asked to sign legal waivers that shifts liability from BP to the fishermen for any toxic content of their product.

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[pgodbold]

1. We can be fairly sure that no tests for heavy metals means the metals are present in quantity.

I live in the Florida panhandle fairly near the coast and have every reason to want fishing to fully recover. Having said that I think you would be a fool to eat Florida seafood for many years to come. I certainly won't be eating it.