NEW ORLEANS — Local restaurants are fighting concerns about the safety of Gulf seafood in their effort to bring back the $2.4 billion Louisiana seafood industry back on its feet.
Restaurant owner Chef John Besh said he has not seen any backlash at his restaurants in the city, but maintained that the industry is still trying to rebound from the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
“My friends from outside – New York, West Coast – they've seen a huge drop off and great hesitation from people not wanting to eat Gulf Coast seafood,” Besh said.
Bob Thomas, director of the Center for Environmental Communications at Loyola University, said local seafood harvest is being closely monitored by the state and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: WDSU (New Orleans, LA).
