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Concern grows over oil spill's effect on Gulf Coast seafood

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

The BP oil well explosion April 20, which killed 11 workers about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana, continued to spew at least 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico, threatening coastal fisheries in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Florida and Louisiana have declared states of emergency for portions of their coastlines.Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Wendy Waren, vice president of communications for the Louisiana Restaurant Association, said the group was "monitoring the BP oil spill situation closely," and that they are trying to get the word out that the state's seafood is still safe to eat. Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Ashley Roth, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, said Friday that about 23 percent of the state’s shellfish production was in the path of the potential landfall of the oil spill, which was east of the mouth of the Mississippi River.Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Louisiana is the No. 1 provider of shrimp, oysters, crab and crawfish in the United States, providing about a third of the seafood consumed in nation and $2.4 billion a year to the state economy.Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Waren, of the LRA, said, “Fishermen and suppliers are confident that there will not be an interruption in the state or nation’s ability to get quality Louisiana seafood.”Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Some New Orleans residents said Friday that they were beginning to smell the oil in the city, which was filled with tourists attending the Jazz and Heritage Festival.Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

New Orleans operators were keeping on eye on the spill and its potential effect on restaurants in the city, which is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

John Besh, the chef at Restaurant August and five other eateries in New Orleans, penned an article this week in The Atlantic, in which he noted that all of the fish and seafood he uses in his restaurants comes from the waters around Louisiana. Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

“We haven’t seen a decrease in supply yet, but next week we expect it, because of where the slick has moved: the port of Venice, La., where oil is starting to wash ashore, is a major hub of seafood in and out of the Gulf,” he wrote. “We’ll definitely see a break in supply. But what we’re really worried about is all the microorganisms that rely on that marsh. The shrimp and the crabs feed off of those little microorganisms, and all of our other fisheries depend on them.”Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

Gulf Coast restaurateurs and the seafood industry are bracing for the potentially damaging effects on business from the oil-rig explosion and ensuing oil spill that began reaching the shore.

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