New Orleans Fish Industry Will Not Drown
(NASA photo courtesy of mashable.com)
The BP oil spill has a lot of people up in arms, especially the residents of New Orleans. And with good reason. According to reports, the spill hit shoreline early last Friday morning.
Since efforts such as controlled burning, plugging the leak and dispersal have all been unsuccessful, people are beginning to worry. Containment chambers are scheduled to be dropped on top of the leaks; hopefully that will get the flow under control.
The results of this tragedy are most pronounced in the seafood market. The rumors have spread and its possible that this industry will be effected for quite awhile. But all is not doom and gloom. Able to answer some tricky questions and fishy issues surrounding the oil spill is renowned New Orleans food writer Tom Fitzmorris. As published in The New Orleans Menu Daily, here is his thoughts on whether Creole food can survive the recent catastrophe:
“The extent of the damage that will be done by the oilfield accident two weeks ago is still not known. British Petroleum (successor to Gulf Oil) still hasn’t figured out what to do about it or how long it will take. The entire industry and the governmental agencies that oversee them are in Code Red.
I’m worried.
Not about the shrimp, crabs, trout, and redfish. The seafood that dies (mostly next year’s crop) will come back a year later. In the meantime, all the estuaries west of the river are as yet untouched by any more than the usual amount of oil floating around (there always is some). They will likely remain that way, since the circulation in the Gulf is counter-clockwise, carrying the stuff east. That gives us plenty enough seafood to keep restaurants from closing.
Restaurants closing? Who said anything about that?
Only about three dozen people who wrote me or called me on the radio or posted on the message board. One caller said he thought it would be a good idea for restaurant to post a sign on their doors saying, “All seafood from fish farms and West Coast.”
Most of what’s been said has been alarmist overstatement. Yes, seafood prices will rise for the same reason that the stock market went down after Greece’s bonds were declared junk–then went back up a few days later. Markets react to everything, whether it means something or not.
The oil spill will be very bad for fishermen and dealers whose produce comes from east of the Mississippi River. But the majority of fishing areas remain open. Fish are inspected and tracked extremely well in Louisiana. It’s one of the few benefits of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ draconian oversight of commercial fishing. They are able to determine exactly where fish come from, and they check it all the time. The origin of oysters is tagged on each sack. Penalties are very severe. The possibility that tainted fish will get into the stream is slight. If you want to worry about something, be worried about fish you get from your buddy who came back with 100 trout, though, since the tracking of recreationally-caught fish is relatively light.
In other words, the restaurants will have plenty enough shrimp, fish, and crabmeat to keep from losing tourism to China, or whatever other doomsday scenario you may hear. Crawfish, of course, are entirely unaffected. Lake Pontchartrain fish and crustaceans are also in more danger from morons who change their oil and dump it in the nearest ditch than they are from this spill.”
As you can see the catastrophic spill may have greatly harmed the seafood industry but it is not an end-all situation. So it is time to quit worrying- New Orleans beloved cuisine will prevail.
We hope people will not panic and recognize that the media often paints a picture of partial facts, leaving out inconvenient truths. Do plan to come to New Orleans, we are 100 miles from the coast and all is normal for tourists visiting town. You will find the finest safest seafood in the world along with some great venues and wonderful Jazz.
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