{"id":40050,"date":"2015-04-03T10:38:42","date_gmt":"2015-04-03T15:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=40050"},"modified":"2015-04-03T10:38:42","modified_gmt":"2015-04-03T15:38:42","slug":"five-years-after-bp-spill-whats-killing-gulf-dolphins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2015\/04\/03\/five-years-after-bp-spill-whats-killing-gulf-dolphins\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Years After BP Spill, What’s Killing Gulf Dolphins?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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carolyn\/flickr<\/p>

A dolphin spotted in Galveston.<\/p><\/div>\n

It was five years ago next month that a BP oil drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers. Millions of gallons of crude spilled into the water. Damage was done to aquatic life.<\/p>\n

But is the spilled oil now to blame for the deaths of hundreds of dolphins?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe magnitude and the duration of the deaths is utterly unprecedented in the Gulf of Mexico,\u201d said\u00a0Ryan Fikes, a scientist with the National Wildlife Federation. In a conference call, Fikes talked with reporters along with the group\u2019s David Muth. They released a report titled \u201cFive Years & Counting<\/a>\u201d about the effects of the spill on wildlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is compelling evidence that this mortality event that has been going on since the spill is linked to the spill,\u201d said Muth, head of the group\u2019s\u00a0Gulf Restoration Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But is BP\u2019s oil to blame?<\/p>\n

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