About that Oil Spill

From Alabama Live:

Researcher: Fish numbers triple after oil spill fishing closures
Scientists are starting to believe the most powerful environmental effect stemming from the BP oil spill may have nothing to do with the millions of gallons of petroleum loosed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Instead, ongoing research suggests the federal closure of the richest portion of the Gulf to all fishing through the spring and summer months resulted in dramatic increases in the abundance of numerous marine creatures, from shrimp to sharks.

Scientists said the forced closure illustrates the profound influence fishing pressure has on the marine world, though a federal fisheries regulator said many other factors might be at play.

In the end, a group of Gulf Coast researchers believe the positive impact of the fishing closure will likely make it difficult to detect the full suite of negative effects caused by the oil.

A bit more:

Valentine�s research, which consists of trawl surveys in Mobile Bay, Mississippi Sound and around the barrier islands shows a roughly threefold increase in what the nets captured after the spill compared to before, in terms of both the weight of the catch and the number of animals caught. Valentine said it was possible seasonal factors played a role in the changes in the data, though he believed the lack of fishing was the key.

�There has been an awful lot of debate about longlining, gill netting, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, about how the ocean has been restructured by man,� Valentine said. �This was the first time we�ve ever seen such a large scale cessation of fishing.�

He said that the fishing closure appears to have demonstrated for the first time �how resilient the ocean really is if widespread management measures are applied.�

Oh but Noooooessssss -- it is all yummy Malthusian gloom and doom. Idiots. The Earth is so very much bigger than we are and to think that we can significantly alter its course is an exercise in Hubris.