LDWF Secretary: BP Reluctant To Aid Gulf Seafood Industry

Robert Barham, secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries wrote to new BP chief executive, Robert Dudley, on September 15 expressing his disappointment in what he called BP’s “…resistance to support our crippled Louisiana seafood industry.”

The letter is in support of a $173 million five-year plan designed to ensure the safety of Louisiana seafood and restore consumer confidence in a multi-billion dollar industry that ripples through a huge segment of Louisiana’s economy from recreational fishermen to commercial fishermen; from tourism to restaurateurs; from wholesalers to retailers and from truck drivers to servers and a myriad army of service industry personnel.

The letter states that BP already rejected an earlier 20-year plan proposal and noted, “…BP suggested that we wait until our seafood industry suffers greater losses caused by the negative perception that Gulf seafood is contaminated due to the BP oil spill.”

The Secretary’s letter points out studies that show the negative impact BP’s oil spill is having on consumers: “The Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism reports that approximately 50 percent of those surveyed nationwide believe that Louisiana restaurants may be putting their customers at risk due to contaminated product. The same study also shows that 44 percent of consumers believe that seafood is being harvested from areas where oil is still present and nearly half of all respondents believe that Louisiana oyster beds are still contaminated from the spill. Another study by the University of Minnesota reports that 44 percent of those surveyed said they would not eat seafood from the Gulf, and a poll by the Associated Press in August 2010 found that 54 percent of consumers are concerned about the safety of Gulf seafood.”

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Charlotte Oil Spill Examiner.