No Fishing Allowed

In 2008, according to NOAA, Gulf commercial fishermen harvested 1.27 billion pounds of finfish and shellfish that earned $659 million in total landings revenue. Other contributors to the total Gulf fishing economy are seafood processors, warehouses, distributors, and wholesalers. Gulf fishermen land 73 percent of the nation's shrimp—half from Louisiana waters. Louisiana accounts for 67 percent of the nation's oyster production and 26 percent of the blue crab production.

NOAA and state fisheries agencies responded to the Deepwater Horizon spill by closing huge portions of the Gulf to commercial and recreational fishing. At the most extensive point, 88,522 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico were closed to fishing—one-third of the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Mexico, an area larger than the six New England states. In mid-June, NOAA and the FDA released a protocol for reopening fisheries that would apply consistently to state and federal waters while striking a balance between keeping tainted seafood from market and unnecessarily crippling the seafood industry. What ensued was likely the most rigorous seafood-testing campaign in U.S. history.