Further Extensions of Closed Fishing Areas in the Gulf

Scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that they have extended the area in the Gulf of Mexico that is closed for fishing. The measure was taken because experts discovered oil sheens at previously undetected locations. Federal authorities and oil company BP are struggling to contain the leak, and to disperse the crude, but their efforts are rendered useless by the sheer size of the devastation. In addition to closing down a few more areas, NOAA also reopened a section of the Gulf, saying that analysis did not reveal any oil where predictions said it would be.

The closed area now represents about 88,502 square miles, or the equivalent of about 37 percent of Gulf of Mexico federal waters. This is a significant increase from the 75,920 square miles that were closed off on June 1. That surface represented some 31 percent of federally-controlled waters in the Gulf. NOAA officials say that these measures do not apply to any state water, and add that the action was taken in order to prevent the distribution and selling of contaminated fish and other marine species to coastal communities and beyond. The largest recently closed-off area is located off the southwestern parts of Florida, and covers waters just to the west of the Dry Tortugas.

The portion that was reopened covers more than 2,637 square miles, and is located at the western-most boundary of the previously-closed area, just south of Louisiana. “The federal and state governments have systems in place to test and monitor seafood safety, prohibit harvesting from affected areas, and keep oiled products out of the marketplace. NOAA continues to work closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the states to ensure seafood safety, by closing fishing areas where tainted seafood could potentially be caught, and assessing whether seafood is tainted or contaminated to levels that pose a risk to human health. NOAA and FDA are working to implement a broad-scaled seafood sampling plan. The plan includes sampling seafood from inside and outside the closure area, as well as dockside- and market-based sampling,” representatives of the Administration say.

“According to NOAA, there are approximately 5.7 million recreational fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico region who took 25 million fishing trips in 2008. Commercial fishermen in the Gulf harvested more than one billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 2008. NOAA will continue to evaluate the need for fisheries closures based on the evolving nature of the spill and will re-open closed areas as appropriate. NOAA will also re-evaluate the closure areas as new information that would change the boundaries of these closed areas becomes available,” they conclude.

It's more imperative now than ever to contain the spill, experts say. The hurricane season officially started June 1, and officials at NOAA say that high winds could wreak havoc in the oil slick. The crude may be pushed by high winds and strong tides at ever-increasing speeds towards the shorelines. While the Louisiana coasts have already been affected by the spill, the ones in Mississippi and Alabama have thus far evaded major damage. That could change within a few days, as NOAA is already forecasting winds that will take the oil to those locations later this week.