BP Oil Diaster and Louisiana Seafood

When New Orleans, Louisiana, chef John Besh recently urged people to choose U.S. shrimp over imports during an interview about the state of seafood in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico spill, commenters responded negatively, writing, "What's a little tar or mercury in your system anyways?!" and "I hope you enjoy the petrol in your fish."

Another commented, "You eat the fish from down there, don't complain to anyone when you get cancer in 10-15 years. I can't even believe a responsible human being would advocate for eating seafood slathered in oil first."...

ABC reports that in light of the reduced amount of seafood on the market, "Fish that normally sold for $2.50 a pound were going for $3.25."

On Tuesday, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a commercial fisheries failure to trigger aid for commercial fishermen from the Economic Development Administration.

In a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, the governor wrote, "The waters offshore Louisiana's coast supply nearly one-third of all commercial seafood harvested in the lower 48 states, with values in excess of $2.85 billion annually. As the largest provider of domestic seafood in the continental United States, protection of Louisiana's fisheries, habitats and catch are critical to our nation's economy and food supply.

read the CNN article