Seafood Damage

The big oil spill has made a big impact on Louisiana seafood. People are buying seafood of all sort and, horror of horror in the fresh seafood only heavenly Louisiana, are and putting it in their freezer in anticipation of shortages in just about every variety of seafood one could eat here. Prices are rising and the Louisiana oyster, universally regarded as so far superior to any other anywhere else that there isn't even a second place (the mix of the Mississippi fresh water at the junction of the Gulf plus the natural oyster beds with perfect nutrition sources make Louisiana oysters so good and incapable of being replicated elsewhere), may soon be unattainable.

Most local restaurants say they will simply not sell oysters while the oil spill closes and or contaminates oil beds, given that locals would not eat the inferior imports if served them. But fine restaurants in Paris, New York, just about everywhere that purchase our oysters for their signatures dishes are just as worried about the supply shortage as the locals here. The fish, shrimp, crabs, oysters and the rest that locals take for granted and consume constantly may be a thing of the past as pollution from the spill and the bankruptcy of local fisherman and seafood processors who are not allowed to fish much of the Gulf of Mexico and earn the money needed to stay in business continues to spiral.

This is, as the license plates on out cars say, a "sportsman's paradise" in which at least one of every two people along the coast has a boat of some kind that is used for recreational fishing. But those boats are grounded now by the ban on use in the Gulf as the oil spill continues to leak and threatens to continue for an indefinite period of time.

Charter boats along the gulf report that at least 75% of their summer clients who fish there have canceled., they too may be put out of business by the spill. Tourists now are expressing worries about the safety of eating Louisiana seafood, even though what is sold in restaurants is not from the affected areas and is completely safe. The false appearance of unsafe seafood may mean a further decline in sales of what is not unsafe. This impacts the many great restaurants of New Orleans which so rely on fresh seafood in many dishes.

So the possible ripple effect of oil impacting our coasts and possibly the entire marsh and inland waterways has already started to ripple in seafood perceptions, sales, livelihoods and in the health of the local fishery supplies. What the final impact will be remains unknown, but taking away our seafood culture is like taking away the oil and gas from your car.

At the very least, it is a huge obstacle to maintaining the quality of life the locals have come to know and love.