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I'm not anti-oil drilling for the Gulf, but we should be aware of trade-offs. IF this research is right this might be the explanation for the low numbers of king macks last year and maybe for a couple of years to come.
I would expect nature to heal itself and the fishery to recover, but what is, is.
Mechanism of crude oil heart toxicity on fish revealed from oil spill research -- ScienceDaily
"Their tests revealed that very low concentrations of crude oil disrupt the specialized ion channel pores -- where molecules flow in and out of the heart cells -- that control heart rate and contraction in the cardiac muscle cell."
I'm no expert by any means on Saltwater fish or oil spills. There is no doubt that SOME fish were killed and others adversely affected by that much oil but the Gulf has been seeping crude oil for eons and there are bacteria that feed upon and break down hydrocarbons. I wonder if the dispersants that were used had more negative impact than the oil.
I think the dispersants did more damage than the oil. I have fished the marsh islands off the Louisiana coast and the bottom sludge is typically oily due to decades of oil spills and yet that is some of the best fishing I have experienced anywhere. Many of those islands are actually formed from drilling muck.