How Oil is Killing My Favorite Place on Earth

July 12, 2010

By Ashley Day

A guest post by Field & Stream Editorial Assistant Ashley Day

I’ve spent every summer of my life in the Florida Panhandle, visiting my grandparents who have lived in Seagrove Beach for 45 years. It is my favorite place on Earth. It is my sanctuary. Spring Break attractions and patches of rental developments have cheapened and commercialized this sanctuary, but the oil spill is powerful enough to defeat both new condos and drunk college kids. It hasn’t just devalued, it has destroyed. But when people care about their environment, they advocate for it, and no one has proven this more than the local fishermen.

When I caught tidbits of community gossip circulating about BP paying charter captains to monitor the oil’s whereabouts, I went looking for answers at some Destin marinas where the few lingering fishermen were weary of news crews and snooping tourists. They questioned my curiosity and expressed distaste for previous media coverage. Even when I struck up casual conversation, several captains asked whom I was going to tell. Lucky for me, mentioning Field & Stream consistently eased the tension.

I found every docked boat flying the same four-squared Vessels of Opportunity (VOO) flag. Each deck hosted piles of white bags called pom poms and sausage noodles (photo). The pom poms are small bunches of absorbent material for collecting tar balls, and the sausage noodles are long strings of tubing that absorb tar in more oily areas. The locals commonly referred to VOO as “working for BP,” which probably contributed to the suspicion my camera and questions raised at the marinas. The charter boats are perhaps being unfairly linked with the enemy when in truth, the fishermen are fighting enough battles of their own.

As soon as the government declared fish in this area of the Gulf unsafe for consumption, charter operations were suspended. Deepwater Horizon Relief opened an office in Fort Walton Beach to recruit charter boat captains for VOO. After a four-hour training course for captains and certification for vessels, the boats were back on the water 8 to 12 hours a day, disposing of oil before it reached shore. They work in teams that span three miles each in waters up to seven miles offshore, because the clean-up materials are only effective in water no deeper than four feet.

“We used to troll for wahoo and sailfish and marlin,” said Russell Fortner, a deckhand on several boats in the Harbor Walk marina. “Now we troll for oil.”

The charter captians have little choice but to join VOO. They can’t catch any fish until the government decides they’re safe to eat, and they have no other source of income. Fortner’s eager to fish again, but feels confident VOO will keep him busy for a while. A captain next door was more worried about the future and the lack of clarity on whether fish will be safe to eat in a matter of months or years.

Everyone I met had fished here their entire lives, weathering hurricanes, development, and the staggering economy. Now they’re livelihood is drowning in uncertainty: the unpredictability of the weather, the immeasurability of the environmental effects, and the uncontrollable jurisdiction of the federal government.

The VOO operation is the Panhandle’s primary protection from oil. While some locals are upset with the charter captains for essentially working for BP, these fishermen are valiantly protecting their homes and the beaches many of us have adopted as our home away from home. Charter boat captain Tres Peerson referred to working for VOO as “BP-ing.” He was the only fisherman I found at the desolate East Pass Marina.

“Everybody’s BP-ing now,” he said. “I’ve been BP-ing all day.”

Peerson recognized in the months to years it takes to rid the ocean of oil and quantify the damage he will likely have to move for the first time in his life. His and many other families will uproot to survive and leave this home he’s fought to preserve for people like me.

“I was born and raised here,” said Peerson. “I’d much rather be fishing, but I just want to save it.” - Ashley Day

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from Walt Smith wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

I hate to say it but this will only get worse.

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from blackdawgz wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

Of course, The Gulf is now a political football for Big Oil (a subsidiary of International Finance).

Anybody sticking it out there just doesn't get it.

Best to find something else to do or put you boat on a train and head for Alaska.

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from Dr. Ralph wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

It's one of my favorite places too Ashley. I have a friend in Panama City Beach and I can get there in under 8 hours....

My parents had a winter place in Dunedin near Clearwater Beach. One of my best friend's brother lived in St. Petersburg. I love the Gulf of Mexico I have been there a hundred times or more and I hate what is happening. If environmentalists had not made us drill so deep this would not be so hard to fix... there is plenty of blame to go around but not enough is being done to solve the problem.

I think it is a national emergency that should be more important than many other things our government is throwing money at. Like say, extended unemployment benefits and welfare. There's plenty of work or the Mexicans wouldn't be pouring in.

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from AJMcClure wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

All that oil that is being burned up will make for some nasty rainwater, and some areas use rain water for drinking water. Everything about this is awful. Protect fisheries where you can eat the fish you catch. Coming generations will read about that and be amazed that we could go fishing and feed our families in the process. They will say those were the good days.

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from countitandone wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

So the charter boat captains/owners swallow their pride. Working for BP as a VOO allows them to swallow something else...groceries.

You become what you must to survive. With a family to feed and boat payments and slip fees you gotta be a "BP-er."

As for your loss Ashley...a new sanctuary can be found for your enjoyment although it cannot replace the summers of contentment you cherish with family and friends. But the loss of livelyhood by these brave souls cannot be replaced. They become what they must...VOO.

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from pmcquade wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

I like Guy Harvey's response to the Gulf Crisis. He is raising money to research the short and long term effects of the BP oil spill on marine creatures and fisheries in the Gulf through his Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. Here's a short blog post by Guy Harvey about it at http://bit.ly/bzHlER He also announced a new line of Save Our Gulf T shirts with half the proceeds going to research and other worthwhile efforts already underway like relocating turtle hatchlings to the Cayman Islands where Guy lives. Pretty cool.

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from proudmama wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

It's completely sad that an entire way of life will be changed due to no fault of their own. Blackdawgz is off base when saying those sticking it out don't get it. He's the one who doesn't get it. It's their home. It's their heritage. It's their families' livelihood. And those are all worth staying and fighting for.
Let big government and big oil duke it out in the courts. Each one of us can help right now by planning a trip to one of these towns- spend money on hotels, restaurants and small businesses that have lost their regular summer traffic. These folks need help NOW. I have no control over the clean up, but I can sure help this way.

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from blackdawgz wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

Poudmama is blissfully unaware.

That's where I'm from, you idiot!

It is an Evil Place.

The word "Mobile" is part of a French Phrase from the Old Days that means "A Terrible Place To Live."

The entire Gulf Coast from East Texas to Tallahassee has the most undesirable climate in the US.

From a sociological perspectice, it has bred more Evil (Slavery, VooDoo, Human Rights Violations, Cancer from Pollution, a Present Day Feudal System) than anywhere else in these United States.

The only people who stay there do not or cannot understand the choices available to intelligent American Citizens.

Trawlers were allowed into the Gulf and destroyed Fishing Long Ago.

The coral reefs that lined Florida were a source of seafood for milennia.

Now, agricultural and industrial waste have killed them.

I ought to know.

I got the stories from people who moved away and took jobs because fishing got so bad.

The only time I get off base is to improve my position.

The entire southeast is a shithole compared to the West.

It only takes courage and intelligence to go.

I relocated and had a new job in 10 days.

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from blackdawgz wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

Sitting there after a disaster and pretending that things aren't as bad as they seem is an Old Southern Theme, beginning immediately after the Uncivil War.

Go back to the scene at Tara when Scarlett's family where Scarlett's family wuz ready to kill Rhett for saying thet the South wuz going to lose.

Their entire attitude wuz emotion-based.

Wars are industry-based.

The South had no industry.

It should not have lasted a week.

But they managed to drag it out for years and more Americans were killed than in all other wars combined.

Anybody with a brain knew they were going to be abused and they knew that "Reconstruction" was a battle cry of those who would occupy and abuse to this very day.

I rode my bicycle across this continent in the Winter, along a Southern route.

I stayed in Phoenix for three months and then continues to Capisrano.

I read all the roadside history markers and talked to a lot of people.

The people who walked out of the South populated that area.

There are more rednecks in Orange County California than there are in the entire State of Alabama.

There's no way to pretend that The Gulf will ever again be what it used to be.

To imagine it will is the same as thinking The South sghall rise again.

The oil companies are doing pretty well, actually.

I had no idea they had aver 27,000 oil well there.

The death and destruction of the Gulf ecology from this spill is permanent.

Soon as the hurricanes arrive, the roads will be too slick to drive on, and agriculture will be destroyed over vast areas.

The groundwater will be poisoned by toxic petrochemicals...

There's none of thet here.

I live on the bank of the Columbbia River.

Mebbe a quarter of a mile from the River.

The river is clear, except during the snow melt.

We have runs of salmon, steelhead, and sturgeons.

Salmonid numbers are tracked online so ye'll know when to go.

I know when and where to catch steelheads and bronzebacks without wasting any time.

Ye'll see a lot of rainbows caught here in the photos section.

I'm only mebbe 4 hours away from the best waterfowl hunting in the lower 48.

I could walk across highway 14 and kill an elk or deer or bear or limit out on grouse..

You've never seen elk or grouse or pheasants, except on TV.

We gots beautiful clear mountain lakes and evergreen forests (firs, etc).

And it snows each year.

Just enough to make it beautiful.

What do ye have there?

Megalomaniac Boss Hawgz leftover from "Reconstruction" committing every sort of human rights abuse.

Permanent heartworm epidemic.

Beachfront pickup joints.

Catman's Road.

A very uneasy standoff between races.

Poisonous recreation areas.

Give it up!

You could turn your life around with the turn of a car key and discover an entire civilization of people who know nothing of your way of life.

Thank God for the years spent at the University of Alabama.

And for the people I met there from elsewhere!

It wuz not a conscious decision for me.

I gave it more than a fair chance for decades.

Then one day I wuz Gone and having the time of my life.

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from woodsmanj35 wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

whats happening is sad, and it needs to be fixed. but complaining about it isn't going to help. We need to be writing the president, and our congressmen. Not standing around pointing the finger at BP and saying that someone should do something.

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from blackdawgz wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/07/14/ominous-oil-spill-simulation-b...

Don't like my comments?

Go check this out.

Anybody who stays knows less than I do.

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from blackdawgz wrote 1 year 30 weeks ago

I ain't just a bumpin' my gums.

I have three University degrees and worked professionally in all three fields, Education, Business, Engineering.

I had a double major of enineering and Pre-Med for two years and ended up graduating second in my class in engineering.

I was hand-picked to work for the Air Force in a high-tech research group.

By business degree and experience enable me to perform economic evaluations.

But I got as far as Vertebrate Embryology in Pre-Med.

Included in that is a basic understanding of Teratology...The study of what can go wrong in embryonic development and why.

Crude oil includes a wide range of petrochemicals.

Their weight by volume includes everything from heavy grease to outgassing vapors.

Nearly all of it is extremely toxic.

When a pregnant individual gets that in her bloodstream (through the skin, stomach, or inhalation) it guarantees that the fetus will be malformed and my die.

In most cases, death would be preferable.

Remember the photos of the Chernobyl babies that ended up in jars of formaldehyde?

How about the one that looked just like an 8-lb tadpole with a human baby's head.

Radiation and toxic chemicals produce the same general results.

Some restaurants are advertising that they are still using Gulf Seafood.

You can bet that no one is inspecting what comes across the border for oil content.

To suggest that people go there and eat that or even expose them to the vapors finding their way up out of the beach sand is not only moronic, but irresponsible as well.

One of the great economic burdens is the coming swarm of cancer cases for insured and uninsured alike.

The poisoned groundwater will probably place more of a burden on Obamacare than that.

How did I get to be an expert on hurricanes?

I lived in that area for 45 years.

From Niceville, FL to Pascagoula, Mississippi.

How did I get to be an expert on poisoned groundwater?

I drank from a poisoned well.

It may be fun to imagine helping every economy there with tourists.

But you would be sending them to a Hellish nightmare of birth disasters or permanent disabilities or death.

Better think again.

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