Scoop Sea's Oil Spill Thread

[LJR]

I REMEBER ABOUT 3 OR 4 YEARS AGO THE KEATON CANAL WAS STACK FULL OF DEAD PINFISH AND POGIES WASNT NO OIL THEN AND FOR SURE THE OIL IS NOT TO BLAME NOW ITS THE WATER TEMP AND THE WATER QUALITY IN THE CANAL

[MudDucker]

Hey MudDucker, Heck no the government nor BP appear to be good at handling claims. I think if you will re-read my post last night, you will see I am not saying that BP was asking the Govt to handle the claims, they were looking for another avenue besides themselves because they realized that they weren't doing a good job of handling claims. I agree, the third party doesn't need to have any ties to either entity. If they are tied to the government, then it will give the appearance of "one of the cronies getting the work, skimming off the top, etc.". While if they are tied to BP, it will give the appearance that "any claim not paid is because they are tied to BP". I hope they do it right and get a reputable company that handles this matter fairly and properly.

Scoop, I wasn't aiming my comment at you. I was commenting that in general, the government as a claims administrator, which Obama is proposing, would suck.

[Scoop Sea]

Hey Red_Yakkr, I had heard about the Taylor County complaint as well. I concur that it's most likely due to the extreme heat which results in a lack of dissolved oxygen in the water. This is what leads to a lot of fish kills. I am confident that it did not come from the oil spill or any actions related to it. You see these a lot of times in canals and other areas that do not get a lot of natural flushing.

I did not hear about the reported fish kill in Panacea, BUT, Wevans may have hit the nail on the head.....I didn't see the news clip with the 7 Million Dollar Man (Jack-A-Roe) talking about the fish kill. Even when there are natural fish kills you end up with an "oil slick" from the fish themselves. I can tell you for certain that I know of no air or water sampling results that would indicate that a fish kill should be happening in our neck of the woods. In fact, I know of no results that would have validated a fish kill in the three states I have been involved in (Ms, Al, Fl). Fish kills are common this time of year. I do know that there has been a virus hitting saltwater catfish pretty hard over in Ms., but I have not heard about it over here.

MudDucker, no worries, I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn’t promoting the idea of the government handling claims, but rather a third party.

I am curious to see if the President announces that the escrow has been set up yet when he speaks tonight. Politically, it would be smart to talk some tough talk tonight, then go into the meeting with BP tomorrow without the escrow being set up, but come out of the meeting with the escrow set up. How much will go in to the escrow? That’s a good question and anyone’s guess is probably as good as any. My guess is the initial amount will be 15-20 Billion. I do expect him to talk about the on-slaught of skimmers, etc. that are being manufactured and purchased right now for the response and that how BP should be capturing a lot more oil by the end of the week or so.

My question for the evening is this: How many folks are going to fish the Big Bend Saltwater Classic at the end of the week and show folks that we aren’t letting the media and alarmists scare us away from having a good time for a great cause……. If the alarmists keep screaming that the sky is falling, without a show of support indicating otherwise, our local businesses will continue to suffer unfairly. We have got to turn the tide on this matter. As it stands now, not a drop of oil has come into our neck of the woods, yet the media (and some Jack-A-Roes) are doing their best to down play this fact.

For those of you who follow the spill response on the major news channels, how many times have you seen those same birds in the hookless fishing net covered in oil, the poor pelican at the shoreline covered in oil, or the one bird (not sure what type) covered in oil on it’s back with it’s feet and beak facing the sky, obviously dead? Those are all tragedies and any loss of animal life related to the oil spill is as well. However, we have seen these video loops hundreds of times, why doesn’t the media and others try and focus on some of the other aspects of the response that have been beneficial in reducing the impact from the spill and give us hope for the future? I guess doing that wouldn’t sell enough ad space for the media or wouldn’t support the “Jack-A-Roes” in their attempts at making their weak cases for asking for outrageous amounts of money from BP and the Federal Government. I’m just saying……

You know what needs to be remembered: The oil won’t stop flowing for some time and all that really matters is getting to heaven, really……….

[Jumptrout51]

Me,2 brothers and a SIL are fishing BBSWC.
Offshore and inshore.

[culrich]

Me,2 brothers and a SIL are fishing BBSWC.
Offshore and inshore.

You need to get your sister Pat on the boat to catch you a Trout!

[huntn2fish]

scoop sea you have shed an awful lot of light on a subject that not many people are commenting on. I thank you for even making an effort to make some sense of this crazy time we are in, and what is sad is its not by choice that we are even having these conversations only by neccessity. what are your thoughts on cleanup efforts that could be deployed before the oil hits the rest of the fla coast? and what if any methods might they use? I thank you for your concern for our gulf for whatever reason, whether professional or recreational. and for using this forum to express those concerns. we should all be doing what we can to help in any efforts to cleanup, contain, or just pray for those that are able to. This gulf belongs to us, lets not let BP take it from us

[ugadawg]

Does anyone on here know anyone I could contact to get a sample (about a liter or so) of the crude that is being collected?

[Scoop Sea]

Hey Huntn2fish, Thanks for the kind words. My interests are both personal and professional. I am a native Floridian. I have lived up here in the Panhandle all my life (barring some years away due to job transfers) and I have fished these waters since I was a boy. My Great-grandfather first took my father down to Spring Creek when he was just a boy and the tradition of fishing this neck of the woods has carried on ever since. I'm proud to say that my oldest daughter and I will fish the BBSC for the 5th consecutive year together this year (and she's only 10) and I've managed to convince my youngest daughter to commit to another year and this will be her 4th year (and she's only . On the professional side, I have chosen a career that allows me to work to protect the public health and the environment during various types of emergencies. In turn, as you can see, this oil spill response is both personal and professional in nature to me.

As for your question about what cleanup efforts can be deployed before the oil hits the rest of Florida and what methods can be used, I'd offer up the following: As bad as it sounds, if oil has to hit the shores of Florida, it's best that the oil hit the sandy beaches found to the west of us. It will hurt the tourism industry, but oil on sandy beaches is a lot easier to clean up than oil in the marshes and wetlands. Environmentally speaking, let it hit the sandy beaches if it has to hit anywhere in Florida. The same techniques being used to the west are the same techniques that need to be used as it pertains to the Florida coastline, i.e. the oil needs to be skimmed out at sea if possible, if not, then the oil needs to be burned at sea, and if neither of those work, then dispersants need to be looked at. The fight needs to be off-shore to the extent practicable. Weather is the real wild-card on this effort. In a nutshell, the efforts being done in the other 3 states are the same efforts that will need to be done to help the Florida Coast as well.

On a side note, I have been advised that the number of vessels deployed to work on this oil spill response are equal to ¾ the number of vessels deployed during D-Day. I think that shows that it is understood that it’s best to fight this war off-shore instead of on-shore.

UgaDawg: If you have a legitimate reason to have a sample, I am sure that you will be able to get a sample. If you would like to send me a PM concerning why you need the sample, I might be able to steer you in the right direction.

I didn’t catch the President’s address tonight, so I can’t comment on it at this time. It got in the way of a date I had with my wife. I’m just sayin……… Priorities are priorities. I did record it, so I’ll watch it in a little while.

Take Care,

[fish on!!]

Scoop, thanks for the info and endorsement of the BBSC. We need it more than ever this year with all the bad publicity and rumors around. Luckily we have plenty of sensible people in the area that wont buy into all the negativity. If you weigh your catch in Carrabelle, look for me and I'll buy you a beer.

[MudDucker]

I hear the One is now proposing a third party administrator for the fund. Hopefully that will happen.

[Scoop Sea]

Hey Fish On, thanks for the offer. I'll most likely be in Carrabelle Saturday evening, we love the buzz of the crowd over there on the final weigh in.

MudDucker: Yeah, the third party administrator was about the only thing that I took out of the speech that sounded overly positive. What I did hear, that was somewhat surprising, was the appointment of the Secretary of The Navy as the leader of the Gulf Coast Recovery efforts. I would have thought that the recovery efforts would have been handled by each State independently through direct claims to BP. To me, this appointment somewhat dilutes the authorities of the Federal On Scene Coordinator assigned to oversee this response and whose position was created by Federal law (over 30 years ago). Furthermore, with what we have going on world wide, it seems like the Secretary of The Navy would already be pretty taxed. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for taking care of our own homefront first and then the rest of the world second, but it seems to me like the appointee may already have their plate full.

[red_yakker]

Thanks for all the good info, Scoop. Unfortunately, this is the busy season for a hay farmer, I won't be able to fish the Classic because I'll be working. But I am trying to do my part to let everyone know that the only oil on our beaches is sun tan oil.

[Scoop Sea]

Hey Red_Yakker, totally understand work before fun, especially when it comes to seasonal crops, etc. The weather is looking like it's going to cooperate this year so it should be a good tourney. Leave the fields a little early on Saturday and head down to Carrabelle and watch the final weigh-in. A good crowd and cold beverages will be present.
Good point on the sun tan oil, espeically in our neck of the woods.

[wevans]

Unfortunately, the BBSC falls on my anniversary weekend every year, and the wife don't like ta fish THAT much

[Scoop Sea]

Well it's official, BP has agreed to set up a 20 Billion Dollar escrow account that will be managed by an independent agency. You might recall in my post yesterday that I predicted 15-20 Billion. I'm glad they came in on the high end. By the time you figure the 10% overhead fee, we are looking at roughly 18 Billion for claims. I personally feel that's a good start and should provide some stability to the claims issue. Once again, as stated last night, I figure this deal was already worked out before the BP reps stepped foot on the White House lawn. I wonder if there will be a mad run on the claims program.......... Since the escrow account is going to have 20 Billion, I expect the "Jack-A-Roes" to start clamoring for more cash.

Alright, I'm off to get some things in order and head up to Famous Dave's for the BBSC Captain's meeting. I hope I see a lot of ya'll up there getting registered.

Remember, the oil will flow for another couple of months and all you really have to do here on Earth is get to Heaven.