by Peter Stern

Created on: May 05, 2010   Last Updated: June 14, 2010

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill already has had a major impact on the seafood industry by polluting the environment and killing many sea creatures.  In contaminating the waters and spawning sea beds there already is a shortage of shrimps, scallops, oysters, crabs and other seafood.  In addition,Louisiana and Alabama have closed down fishing in the area of the spill.  The sea creatures have lost their sea beds and habitats due to contamination of oil and the chemicals used to contain the spill.  They will not be able to spawn which will affect the seafood industry for at least several generations.  Furthermore, damages from and clean up of the oil spill could cost anywhere from tens of billions to hundreds of billions of dollars.

Currently fishing is closed for an extended period along the southern shores of the U.S. and although already impacting the fishing industry, the actual damage to the wildlife and marine life and vegetation is too early to determine.  The shellfish markets were still recovering from being ravaged by Hurricane Ike in 1980.  It will take years to get past the devastation of Hurricane Ike, Katrina and now the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and it could take generations to heal completely and return some balance to the seafood industry.

The seafood industry is being hit hard from the spill and is looking to other areas of the Gulf and alternate markets to supplement supplies by working with other cities to purchase their seafood stock, but the real fear is how quickly the oil spill will be cleaned up and what the total actual damage has been perpetrated to the local environment and sea life. Until these pieces of the puzzle fall into place the affect the spill has on the seafood industry remains significant, yet undetermined completely.  Many believe BP has no idea how to cap the oil gushing from the bottom of the Gulf.

In conclusion, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has had a great impact on the seafood industry.  It has contaminated the fragile ecosystem and adversely affected the tourist and hotel industries.  Now that the oil spill is being diverted, the massive clean up of oil in deep waters and onshore will take a long time.  The total damage to environmental life and to the local economy is a tragedy and cannot yet be properly estimated.

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