Since the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill wreaked havoc in the Gulf Coast on April 20, there has been little progress in stopping the flow of crude oil further along the coast of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida With hurricane season, which began on June 1st, there is also the threat of the oil spreading further outward.

Marine life is showing up close to shore, which signifies that their regular habitat is not suitable for them to live in, and is heavily polluted. The crowding near the shore could lead to mass die-offs as the fish and marine life run out of oxygen and are more vulnerable to predators.

The latest figures show that 783 birds, 353 turtles and 41 mammals have died. The death toll is still so low in comparison to the Exxon Valdez oil spill where 250,000 birds and 2,800 otters are believed to have died. The reason for this is that the scientists are able to locate only a small fraction of the dead wildlife; many will never be found after sinking to the bottom of the sea or getting scavenged by other marine life.

With it being difficult enough for the scientists tracking the death toll of marine life, the BP executives and politicians are not exactly helping. BP CEO Tony Hayward was forced to apologize publicly after telling Gulf Coast residents in May that he would “like [his] life back” in the face of the region’s struggle to contain the impact of the slick and the deaths caused by the explosion.

President Barack Obama met with BP executives on Wednesday and reached an agreement in which BP will suspend its quarterly dividend immediately and establish a $20 billion escrow fund for paying damages and claims from the spill. The President stressed that the $20 billion was “not a cap” on BP’s liability. Washington attorney Kenneth Feinberg will manage the fund.

BP will also set aside $100 million to pay lost wages to oil rig workers idled by a temporary end to new deep-sea drilling. Experts like Frank Glaciano, former vice president of shell exploration and production, are skeptical about the situation. “We seem to be a bit intoxicated by this idea that BP will pay for everything. Maybe they will, and maybe they won’t. Even if they do, we’re doing so much destruction to the land, the environment and the culture and the jobs and the economy here, that money won’t be able to repair all of this,” Glaviano said.

Even if BP does pay for the damages, claims and lost wages, it will be much more difficult for the environment and the wildlife to recover.