Why do fish die under an oil slick?

[frankiee]

Im not sure if I should be posting this here.
It sort of has to do with results of an marine oil spill so I think it fits. I will try it.
If it is too far off topic let me know
We were in Shell Sarnia during the summer and the ship ahead of us somehow overflowed the bunkers. Oil went down the river and I watched.
The gulls were having a hay day and they were diving into where the oil was. I suspect to get fish that had floated to the surface.
I wonder why fish die that fast. If that in fact what was happening.
Did anyone else ever wittness this.
I would have thought that the fish could still breath because the oil is just patches and streams.
Then the gulls. Diving into the oil. I wonder how many of them survived.

 

[zeusfaber]

Pure speculation this, but might the oil have simply smoothed the water, making it easier for the gulls to see where the fish were?

That way, the fish could stay healthy (right up to the point where the gulls got them)

A

 

[RalphChristie]

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[JLSeagull]

A natural seapage exists in a Gulf of Mexico oil field. You can see a distinct edge of the oil sheen and the non-oily water. Fish can be seen swimming under the oil layer all of the time. I speculate that the oil slick protects these fish from the birds.

Still, I would not want to swim in those waters.

 

[icrman]

Well if someone wants to perpetuate and agenda. Then most likely they would add something to the oil spill to cause the fish kill.
Funny how no one worried about it during the big one WWII.
My mom told me about how she constantly saw the thick oil on the beaches of the east coast. From all the sinking of shipping.
If you did the correct study you would have seen the article in scientific american about the marine life "eating"" the crude oil that naturally bubbles forth from various areas of the oceans floors. Oil is not a problem, what is, are the ones that are using it as an agenda. You should worry more about radioactive crap.