Conservationists Lobby To Save Oil Rigs In Order to Save Reefs

[Gouldian]

In an ironic twist, scientists, fishermen and conservationists are urging that hundreds of dormant oil rigs be left standing in the Gulf of Mexico, arguing that a federal plan to remove them will endanger coral reefs and fish.

While environmentalists might more typically be expected to oppose artificial intrusions in the marine habitat, those seeking a halt to the removal want time to study the impact of rig destruction on the Gulf Coast's economy and to catalog the species, some rare and endangered, that are clinging to the sunken metal.

"I am not supporting oil rigs. I am supporting fish habitat that just happens to on petroleum platforms," said Bob Shipp, chairman of the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of South Alabama.

U.S. Department of Interior officials say the federal "idle iron" policy, updated in 2010, makes good sense after storms during the 2005 hurricane season toppled 150 defunct oil rigs, causing considerable damage.

Source: - http://www.reuters.c...E88A1EY20120911