Depth into why the spill hurt the economy

Large amounts of federal and state waters were closed to fishing in the stir of the spill, many areas for more than a year and a half. Once reopened, many were short of the seafood they once supported or unfriendly to the spawning of new life.

In Louisiana and Mississippi, oyster production collapsed, falling by 55 percent in Louisiana and 34 percent in Mississippi from 2009 to 2010. Even lower numbers are expected when the 2011 harvest is tallied. Byron Encalade is president of the Louisiana Oystermen’s Association. Byron operates out of Bay Jimmy, where, he reports; oil continues to come up on land, in the water, and in critical reef habitats. Byron’s biggest fear is production. “We’ve already been out two years. My concern is that there’s no spat [larval oysters] out there, so that means we’re out another two years. What are we supposed to do then?”

 Shrimpers are facing an only slightly less daunting situation, as Clint Guidry, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, tells me over breakfast in New Orleans.”Between 2009 and 2010, the shrimp crop declined in Mississippi by 52 percent, in Alabama by 48 percent, and in Louisiana by 14 percent, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Coming into late September 2011 our crop was down by 80 percent,” Clint tells me. “The areas with the least amount, and in some cases, no shrimp are those hardest hit by the oil and dispersant.”From 2009 to 2010, the crab crop declined by 42 percent in Louisiana, 37 percent in Alabama, and 33 percent in Mississippi.




LINK: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703438604575314563269981870.html


SOURCE:Juharz, Antonia. "Oil Spill Still Tars the Gulf." The Progessive. Web. 10 May 2012. http://www.progressive.org/bp_oil_still_tars_the_gulf.html.