Good News for Gulf Fishermen In response to the oil disaster in
the Gulf of Mexico, the federal government closed off vast areas
of the ocean to fishing operations. Much of the area was closed
off as a precaution, even if it was minimally touched by the
spreading oil, to avoid a public health disaster from
contaminated seafood. The good news is that about one-third of
that closed off area has just been reopened by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In the 26,388
square miles to be reopened, no oil has been observed for the
past thirty days. According to agreed-upon protocol, this
decision was made after consulting with the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and the Gulf states to determine public
health concerns. The conclusion was that the water is
sufficiently clean and the fish are safe to eat. The US Coast
Guard has been doing fly-overs for the past thirty days and have
seen no traces of oil in the reopened area. Scientific models
also show the trajectory of the existing oil co