Y'all seen this? Fed.Gov blowing up Red Snapper

[Termo]

I agree with JYC that it could have been done differently (and should have been)......but we keep forgetting the root cause...poor resourse management when the rigs were put there in the first place, both the fault of the oil/gas companies and the federal managers at the time. We seem to always blame the effect and forget the cause in everything. Some comments were made in the video responses that the rigs must be removed at least 90' from the surface....why can't they (or do they?) just let the rig topple at 90' and remain on the bottom for future colonization? There HAD to be a better response than the one the government used in this instance.

[Jerkyourcroaker]

The crime isn't blowing up the rig and killing the snapper though that is certainly lamentable given the overbearing recreational harvest restrictions. The crime is that the rig could have been made safe and remained in place as habitat for the marine life that use the substructure as an ecosystem.

So, yes, it is absolutely the government's fault. With some planning and foresight (very short supply these days) the ecosystem could still be in place and the waterway navigable. You could say the same for the whack jobs that ruined the north shore of West with dredge spoils. All easily avoidable while still facilitating commerce - another area where our government is woefully lacking.

[Termo]

This video was heartbreaking to watch. Let's look at both sides tho.....The goverment is being blamed here but how would you feel if you were running along and hit a submerged platform, or a oil tanker is ripped apart by a jutting steel leg of an abandoned rig, releasing thousands or millions of gallons of oil into the Gulg...etc. etc. etc. Again, it's always the government's fault. Who put those rigs there? It wasn't the government. How about we demand the oil companies (that get BILLIONS of OUR tax dollars in subsidies) be required to post bonds for the removal of their rigs before being able to install them in the first place. And demand that they remove then without harm to the ecosystem before their bond is returned. Nahhh....let's just blame the government. Again.
I do agree that the government should have at least attempted to allow commercial or pleasure fishermen to collect the harvest of the dead snapper (if it could be done safely). This was a terrible waste of a valuable resourse.

[Root Canal]

POTUS to blame!!!

[Curmudgeon]

Amazing

[Gulfcoast13]

Damn shame.

[Moonpie]

http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Explosive-Fed-Mandate-Killing-Thousands-of-Red/xj8T4zPamkOGc8fuT40W_Q.cspx

“They tell us not to fish [red snapper] but they’re blowing them up,” charter boat Captain Jason Domange told Local 15, “It’s a cryin’ shame.”