Chris Council Photography

Caption: Barry Dobson examines a dead porpoise on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 on Casse-tete Island, a barrier island in Timbalier Bay, La. Clumps of oil can be seen in the foreground and background. Scientists were unable to offer a definitive explanation why large amounts of dead dolphins and porpoises began washing ashore along the Gulf coast beginning in February 2011.

Keywords: BP, Casse-tete Island, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, bayou, conservation, environment, oil spill, pollution, porpoise

Barry Dobson examines a dead porpoise on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 on Casse-tete Island, a barrier island in Timbalier Bay, La. Clumps of oil can be seen in the foreground and background. Scientists were unable to offer a definitive explanation why large amounts of dead dolphins and porpoises began washing ashore along the Gulf coast beginning in February 2011. Nalon Baker holds up a tar ball on the beach on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011 at Grand Isle State Park, La. Baker's family traces back several hundred years in the area, having settled one of the nearby towns on the bayou. She will no longer swim in the water. Kirk Williams, left, and Barry Dobson, both local fishermen from Golden Meadow, La., return from inspecting the oil damage to nearby barrier islands on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011. They have spent their whole lives fishing in the bayou and the Gulf and have serious concerns about the long-term impact of the oil spill, as well as frustrations with the claims process and the spill cleanup. With the local fishery closed, both men worked for BP and took part in mopping up oil in the bay and on the barrier islands. Freshly caught shrimp are stored on ice outside a local seafood market on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011, in Bayou La Batre, Ala. Many people are afraid to eat Gulf seafood even though it is rigorously tested and has been deemed safe to eat by the FDA. Many of the floats and costumes in the kickoff Mardi Gras parade on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 in New Orleans, La. put on by Krewe du Vieux focused on the oil spill and mocked BP and the government's response. Ads for legal counsel related to the oil spill dot Highway 1 along the bayou on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, in the fishing town of Cut Off, La. Captain Richard "Buddy" Brockly, part owner of the 'Lady Catherine' based in Bayou La Batre, Ala. explains on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 that the shrimp for this year's coming harvest were hatched post-oil spill and everyone is concerned that the crop has been damaged. When speaking about the oyster crop, Buddy shrugs and says it may never recover. Roy Fairchild holds up live blue crabs after unloading a fresh catch at Beshel's Seafood on Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Pointe A La Hache, La. According to Fairchild, the water in this area was largely spared from the spill due to tidal currents. A roadside sign on Grand Isle, La. as seen on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011 mocks the clean-up efforts related to the oil spill. As spring break approaches, followed by the summer tourist season, many small towns are worried about their survival. Mayor Jeff Collier on Dauphin Island sums up the thoughts and fears througout the Gulf region: "Our bread and butter is tourism. Everything on the island is related to or directly impacted by tourism. Charter boats, restaurants, golf course, rental properties. If you cut off that lifelinethen where are we?" Karen Hopkins, assistant at the Dean Blanchard Seafood Company on Grand Isle, La. has become an outspoken critic of the oil spill and an advocate for shrimpers and the environment. Monday, Feb. 21, 2011. Kirk Williams pokes at a large tar ball on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 that recently washed ashore on Timbalier Island, La. almost one year after the BP oil spill.