Marine life in Gulf of Mexico has still not fully recovered from 2010 BP oil spill

A new study says marine life in the Gulf of Mexico still hasn’t fully recovered from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with declines measured at roughly 60% that have persisted for more than a decade. The April 2010 explosion—50 miles off Louisiana—released about 134 million gallons and killed 11 people while injuring 17. Published Monday in PNAS, the research found “sudden, severe and persistent” population drops from 2011 to 2015: fish down 63.5%, macrocrustaceans like shrimp and krill down 62%, and cephalopods down 59.7%. It reports the crash exceeded declines seen in similar waters over 60 years, and that factors like temperature and oxygen didn’t track with the downturn.