NOAA Reopens 5,130 Square Miles to Fishing in the Gulf

Officials at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today that they have reopened some 5,130 square miles of Gulf water to commercial and leisure fishing.

The area includes the far eastern coast of Louisiana, all the way through Mississippi, Alabama, and the western Florida panhandle. The decision was made together with other relevant authorities.

In this area, the risk of oil exposure is drastically lower than in other regions of the Gulf of Mexico. Models show that, in the future, the region has small chances of being contaminated.

In addition, studies that NOAA experts conducted in the area revealed that fish exhibit no sign of contamination from the oil slick.

As a result, in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and all Gulf states, NOAA officials decided to reopen the area for fishing, under a commonly-agreed-upon protocol.

“This is a significant area of importance to fishing and tourism,” explains the US under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, Jane Lubchenco, PhD.

“The Gulf seafood taken from these waters is safe to eat, and today’s re-opening announcement is another signal to tourists that the northern Gulf is open for business,” adds the official, who is also the NOAA Administrator.

She explains that the area stretches to a distance of about 54 miles to the north of the original site of the oil spill. It was there that the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, operated by BP, exploded on April 20.

It sunk on April 22, triggering a spill that eventually led to the worst ecological disaster in the history of the United States. Millions of barrels of crude spilled into the waters.

In the reopened area, snapper, mackerel, and shrimp are the main targeted fish. The region is equivalent to about 21 percent of the waters that were closed to fishing on August 27.

The surface represents four percent of the federally-controlled waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Sensory analyses of 123 samples and chemical analyses of 183 specimens that were composited into 27 samples followed the methodology and procedures in the re-opening protocol, with sensory analysis finding no detectable oil or dispersant odors or flavors, and results of chemical analysis well below the levels of concern,” NOAA officials write in a press release.

“NOAA will continue to take samples for testing from the newly re-opened area. The agency also implemented dockside sampling to test fish caught throughout the Gulf by commercial fishermen,” they conclude.