Chefs Collaborative

An update on the Gulf Oil Spill from our resident seafood expert and Board Member, Megan Westmeyer.  Thank you Megan for providing us with up-to-date information on this important event.

The Leak

The well is still leaking oil into the Gulf at an estimated rate of 210,000 gallons per day.  It has been leaking for 22 days, thus the estimated volume of the spill is just over 4.5 million gallons.  Efforts by BP to place a funnel or box over the leak last weekend failed due to ice-like crystals clogging the funnel.  They are trying a new and smaller box called a “top hat” and will use warm water and methanol to prevent the ice crystals from forming.

Oil Slick

Workers continue to skim oil from the surface of the water, burn patches of oil, and apply chemical dispersants.  Fortunately very little oil has made landfall.  The winds are now out of the southeast and are pushing the oil slick in more of a westward direction, away from Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.  It is now moving towards the Mississippi River Delta and portions of Central Louisiana.

Fishery Closures

The size and shape of the state and federal fishery closures are changing on an almost daily basis because government agencies are very closely tracking the oil and chemicals to ensure our seafood supply is not contaminated.  To the right is a most recent closure maps produced by the state of Louisiana showing the closures in both federal and state waters as of yesterday.

Oysters

As you can see from the map to the right, a substantial portion of Louisiana’s oyster harvest is closed.   Louisiana produces about 40% of the U.S. oyster supply, so these closures are bound to impact the availability and prices of oysters, especially as many states begin normal summer closures to oyster harvest.  The Appalachicola Bay in Florida remains open to oyster harvest and is not immediately threatened by the oil spill.

Shrimp

You may start seeing shortages in the domestic shrimp supply and may have already seen price increases, though many of these are due to speculation.  Louisiana shrimpers are permitted harvest shrimp offshore in federal waters all year round, but only the larger boats tend to do this.  Smaller vessels wait until the state waters open for shrimp season, which usually occurs in mid-May.  On Monday, May 10, Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries opened the shrimp season west of the Mississippi River, with the exception of the specific closed areas noted on the attached ‘All Closures’ map.  Areas east of the Mississippi River are closed to shrimping.  (Lakes Ponchartrain and Borgne are closed to shrimping because of the presence of juvenile shrimp, not because of oil.)  If you hear about the closure for shrimping off of Texas in state and federal waters, please be aware that this is a normal closure that occurs every year to avoid harvest of small shrimp.  The season normally opens back up in July when shrimp are larger.

Food safety

Multiple government agencies continue to test the air, water, and sediment in potentially affected areas.  Initial sampling gave them benchmark levels with which to compare potentially contaminated products.  Inspectors continue to test seafood products.  I have not heard of any contamination issues.

I’ve started to receive some questions about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and how it may affect the supply of seafood in the near and distant future.  As some of you may know I went to graduate school in Louisiana and conducted all my research from fishing boats and oil rigs off the Louisiana coast so I’m familiar with the area and affected industries.  While I’m not an expert on oil spills I’ve been doing a lot of reading and research over the past few days – hopefully I can offer a little clarity in contrast to the rumors that are flying around the media and the general public.  If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail me at mwestmeyer@scaquarium.org.

Q: Is seafood from the Gulf of Mexico safe to eat?

A: Yes, seafood harvested in the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat.  On Sunday (5/2/10) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration closed the potentially affected portion of the Gulf of Mexico to fishing for at least 10 days (see attached map).  This area is a relatively small portion of the Gulf stretching from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Pensacola Bay.  This area encompasses waters offshore of a portion of eastern Louisiana, all of Mississippi, all of Alabama and very little of the western Florida panhandle.  Louisiana closed some of their near shore waters to fishing as well, though waters within 20 miles of Alabama are still open to fishing for the time being.  Texas, most of Louisiana and nearly all of Florida are largely unaffected at this point and fishing is occurring as usual.  Federal and state government agencies are regularly testing the water quality in these areas and are inspecting seafood to ensure its safety.  Please keep in mind that while the affected areas are geographically limited in scope, the fishing communities within these areas, especially in Mississippi and Alabama, could be devastated because it might not be economically feasible for these fishermen to travel to fishable waters.

Q: What seafood is likely to be affected by the oil spill?

A: The effects will vary depending on the species and their locations.  The surface oil (oil slick) is currently in a limited area east of the Mississippi River delta (eastern Louisiana) and south of Mississippi and Alabama.  These coastlines are the most likely to be affected at this time but very little oil has reached the coast so far.  Some species may be immediately affected (i.e. adult population could be damaged now) whereas others may be affected more in the future (i.e. reproduction could be affected).

• Oysters are very likely to be affected by the oil slick that reaches the coast because they are immobile and cannot move to oil free areas.  The Gulf of Mexico produces 67% of the nation’s total oysters, with Louisiana vastly dominating harvest and Texas, Mississippi and western Florida producing smaller but significant amounts.  The affected portions of eastern Louisiana and Mississippi alone produce around half of the oysters consumed in the U.S.  You will probably see availability tightening and prices going up, for good reason.
• Shrimp are likely to be affected in the short term.  During the spring and summer adult shrimp start to leave the salt marshes and move offshore to spawn.  This oil slick could affect both the adults (which would be harvested during this year’s shrimp fishery) and their offspring (which would be harvested during next year’s shrimp fishery).  The Gulf of Mexico produces about 73% of the U.S. harvested shrimp.  Again, Louisiana dominates harvest with Texas at a close second.  Alabama, Mississippi and western Florida produce smaller but still substantial amounts.  The currently affected portions of eastern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama produce about 20% of U.S. harvested shrimp.  The state of Louisiana did open a special shrimp harvesting season in their state waters at the end of April to allow shrimpers to harvest some of the adult population of white shrimp before the oil slick neared shore.  This special fishery was closed earlier this week when most of the marketable white shrimp in the near shore region were harvested.
• Blue crabs are likely to be affected in the short term.  Blue crab harvest occurs in primarily near shore waters with harvest typically peaking during the summer and spawning peaking during the fall.  Most of the blue crab harvest occurs in Louisiana, which accounts for about 26% of U.S. caught blue crabs; though remember that only a portion eastern Louisiana is currently affected by the oil slick.
• Adult snapper and grouper are less likely to be affected by the oil slick because they inhabit deeper waters.  Unfortunately many snappers and groupers have begun or are about to being spawning throughout the late spring and summer months.  Their larvae and juveniles tend to inhabit shallower and inshore waters, including salt marshes, bays and estuaries.  These larvae and juveniles are more likely to be affected by oil, potentially negatively impacting the next few years of snapper and grouper reproduction.
• Tunas and other migratory species are much less likely to be affected because they spawn much further from shore.  At the same time, one of the largest seafood ports (especially for tuna) in the U.S., Empire-Venice, is right on the edge of the area closed to fishing in Louisiana.  I have not heard anything about boat traffic being limited by the oil slick but it could be a possibility.

Q: What are the long-term consequences of the oil spill?

A: No one really knows.  Many scientists are watching and waiting.  Oil continues to leak from the deep sea well at an estimated rate of 210,000 gallons per day.  The true amount of oil leaked will probably never be known, but current estimates from BP and the Coast Guard put the amount just under 3 million gallons over the past two weeks.  To put this in perspective, the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was 11 million gallons.  The surface oil slick does not appear to be increasing in size anymore because emergency crews are piping oil dispersant to the seafloor near the leak.  The dispersant separates the oil into smaller droplets which are then dispersed throughout the water column instead of rising to the surface where it can coat animals, beaches and marshes and where it could do the most immediate damage.  This technique does not destroy or eliminate the oil, it just dilutes it until the oil naturally degrades.  Unfortunately it is difficult to predict where the diluted oil is going.  Sub-surface currents in the Gulf of Mexico can be very different than surface currents, thus the oil in the water column might be going in a different direction than the surface oil slick.   This is why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Food and Drug Administration continue to test water and monitor seafood.

Megan Westmeyer, Program Coordinator at the South Carolina Aquarium

There have been countless victims of industrial-scale fishing worldwide, and America’s oldest fishing port, though once sustaining the Massachusetts Bay Colony, is no exception. Gloucester’s famous cod have reached record lows, significantly affecting the community that surrounded and supported it. Today, only a few hundred boats of thousands are still working. In order to save this fishery while guaranteeing the future of the cod and haddock, artisan methods must be passed down to ensure the maintenance of the fish habitat.

CleanFish, a leading seafood brokerage company, has started taking steps to amend the problem of quickly disappearing fish. With a dedication to great tasting, sustainably produced, artisan seafood, both wild-caught and farmed, CleanFish is working to promote innovative producers with sustainable practice as well as responsible consumers. In their most recent venture, Blackburn’s Day Boat Cod & Haddock, cod and haddock is caught purely by jig and by hook, defined as the most environmentally responsible choice avoiding the dangerous problems of habitat destruction and bycatch.

Catching cod by a jig involves a rod and reel with a shiny metal bobble and unbaited hook. Exclusively cod are attracted to this shiny jig, and the larger jigs ensure only mature, larger cod will be caught. The 50 foot line of successive that sits on the ocean floor where cod and haddock swim is defined as hook fishing, and is monitored frequently to ensure that juvenile fish are released back alive.

This level of transparency that CleanFish is helping to enact is unlike any other fishery in the North Atlantic, allowing chefs and consumers feel comfortable about the seafood choices they make. Chefs and consumers can tell others exactly what fisherman caught their meal.

CleanFish hopes that this program in Gloucester will help establish a platform to help change the state of our world’s seafood industry.

The fishing season and Blackburn’s Day Boat Cod & Haddock kick off this Monday. The fish will be available through distributors across the country.  Contact chefs@cleanfish.com for more information.