"Five Years After BP Oil Spill, Some Gulf Oystermen Are Losing Hope"

"NEW ORLEANS -- Five years after the largest oil spill in U.S. history spewed millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, many Louisiana oystermen are fearful that a once-bountiful population of the mollusks may never recover.

"My kids are losing hope," said Wilbert Collins, 77, a retired third-generation oysterman in southeastern Louisiana with four sons who followed him into the industry. The family business has endured a 60 percent drop in yields in the past five years.

The explosion and collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20, 2010, left 11 workers dead and huge stretches of the Gulf fouled with petroleum that gushed from the site for 87 days."

Jonathan Kaminsky reports for Reuters April 19, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"On BP Oil Spill Anniversary, Ex-NOAA Director Urges Major Changes in Federal Spill Contingency Plan" (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

"5 Years After BP Spill, Drillers Push Into Riskier Depths" (AP)

"Five Years After the BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster, Oil Spills Are on the Rise" (Earth Island Journal)

"BP Oil Spill: in Hard-Hit Oyster Areas, Concrete Mountains Rise 5 Years After Disaster" (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

"5 Years After BP Oil Spill, Effects Linger And Recovery Is Slow" (NPR)

"Dispersant Used To Clean Gulf Spill More Toxic To Corals Than the Oil" (SPX)

BP Says Oil Spill Isn't a Disaster (Bloomberg)

"Louisiana Five Years After BP Oil Spill: 'it's Not Going Back To Normal No Time Soon'" (Guardian)

"The Enduring Mystery of the Missing Oil Spilt in the Gulf of Mexico" (Scientific American)

"Study Finds High Incidence of Respiratory Problems in Oil Spill Cleanup Workers" (Tampa Bay Times)

"5 Years After Gulf Oil Spill, BP Spokesman Tells Public Not To Worry About Tar Balls In The Water" (Climate Progress)

"On BP Oil Spill Anniversary, Trustees And BP Announce $134M in Proposed Early Restoration Projects" (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

"Gulf Spill: Political, Bureaucratic Brawls Threaten Restoration Hopes" (Greenwire)

"Greens Warn Against More Drilling Ahead of Gulf Spill Anniversary" (The Hill)

"5 Years On, Empty Graves, Full Hearts for Gulf Survivors" (AP)