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Fish Deformities Linked to Oil Pollution
A renowned Alberta water scientist is urging the federal government to take action after he discovered deformities in fish in the Athabasca River. Downriver from oil sands developments fish are showing a striking resemblance to ones found in waters after oil spills.
University of Alberta ecologist Dr. David Schindler said the only way to know for sure which petrochemicals – and it what concentrations – cause the deformities is to conduct whole ecosystem experiments at the Experimental Lakes Area in Northern Ontario.
Schindler cited a number of studies that looked into the effects of oil and chemical contamination on fish after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska and the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as in the lower Athabasca River. He included photos of fish from the Athabasca with two tails, bulging eyeballs and gaping sores.

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