Despite photos of fish with sores or other unappetizing marks on them from the Gulf of Mexico, the Food and Drug Administration’s Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory says seafood is safe to eat, two years after the BP oil spill.

It’s not like anyone is allowed to sell diseased fish, notes the Associated Press (via the New York Daily News), so even though some fish may look icky, you won’t be eating those.

“It’s important to emphasize that we’re talking about a low percentage of fish,” says the lab’s head, Dr. Robert W. Dickey.

Scientists cite lesions, sores and other deformities as evidence that there are lingering effects on the environment since the Deepwater Horizon spill two years ago to the day. But they’re not sure what is causing those fish to be diseased, or if the number of damaged fish is any higher than it used to be.

The FDA doesn’t allow any fish with lesions, disease or signs of parasites to be sold, and health officials rigorously tested seafood for traces of oil contamination before commercial fishing was allowed again after the spill. That testing is continuing today as a precaution.

For more common questions and info on Gulf seafood, check out the source link below.

Gulf seafood safe despite oil spill concerns, FDA says [New York Daily News]

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