Despite what BP's Twitter feed might have you believe, fishing in the Gulf has still taken a big hit. We don't mean to kill your Earth Day buzz--by all means, please continue on to whatever park or patch of grass you were headed to and frolic. But take a look at this first, as part of your Earth Day spirit. The sharp decline in gulf fishing in 2010 precipitated by the oil spill--a 39 percent reduction from 2009, according to the NRDC--now over a year ago, can certainly be read a number of different ways. Some might see it as less than expected, given the dire photos and warnings during the catastrophe. Or the giant drop can be read as exactly what one might expect, given the carnage. But it's also worth pointing out that the catch in the Gulf had been on a general decline since 2000: it's not just periodic accidents and disasters that are exacting a toll on our environment.

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Eli Rosenberg