BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. — BP’s top official in the region had lunch with seafood industry leaders in Bayou La Batre on Tuesday and said afterward that work continues to restore consumer confidence in seafood safety.
Standing on the dock at Dominick’s Seafood on Shell Belt Road, Mike Utsler emphasized to those gathered that "literally thousands and thousands" of pieces of shrimp, fish and oysters have undergone sensory testing for both cancer-causing PAHs — polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — and the dispersant Corexit.
"Not a single sample has failed," he said.
That said, BP continues to work with state agencies like Alabama’s Marine Resources Division to improve and standardize the testing that’s being done, he said. Utsler is BP’s chief operating officer for the Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, a long-term operation designed to oversee environmental and economic recovery.
Major Chris Blankenship, chief enforcement officer for the Marine Resources Division, said continued testing with both sensory and chemical analysis was necessary to ensure that both commercial and recreational fishermen can be sure what they’re catching is safe.
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