The timing could not be worse for the bluefin tuna. The
majestic, deepwater giant — threatened by overfishing — had just
lost a bid for protection as an endangered species when oil
started gushing into its spawning grounds in the Gulf of Mexico.
Now, a part of the emergency response to the oil — the large-
scale use of dispersants — could further imperil the species by
sinking the oil beneath the Gulf’s surface and into the zone
where its eggs and larvae are floating, marine biologists say.
The chemical dispersants — a standard tool in the oil cleanup
business — are being used by the Deepwater Horizon response team
to break up the oil offshore in hopes of preventing thick crude
from wrecking delicate marshlands, mangroves and pristine
beaches. The federal government — the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency,
the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies — has signed off on BP’s
use dispersants as a necessary part of the company’s damage-
control strategy in the wake of