The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is reopening a 4,213-square-mile L-shaped area of the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to royal red shrimping on Wednesday after fish and shrimp sampling and testing in the area showed no further oil or dispersant contamination from the BP oil well disaster.
The area was closed in November only to fishing for the royal red shrimp, which are caught by trawling at 600 feet or deeper, after a shrimper reported finding tar balls in his nets.
Fishing for the royal red species is conducted by pulling trawl nets along the ocean floor. Tar balls founding the catch may have been entrained in the net as it was dragged along the sea floor, NOAA officials said at the time of the closure.
"Extensive testing of royal red shrimp and other fish from this area revealed they are safe to eat," said Roy Crabtree, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA's Fisheries Service southeast region, in a news release. "Seafood safety and consumer confidence remain a priority for NOAA, and we will continue monitoring Gulf seafood for as long as necessary to ensure its integrity."
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA).
Photo courtesy of NOAA