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The waters in Terrebonne and western Lafourche could be opened to commercial crab, shrimp and finfish fishing in as little as two weeks. The waters, which took repeated oiling as a result of the BP oil spill have been closed since April. Fishing waters around Fourchon Beach and eastern Grand Isle and Grand Terre islands are also closed, with no immediate plans for reopening.
In order to reopen the waters, the state must prove that there’s no visible oil on waters and that the area is not likely be re-oiled in the near future. The state then submits a request to the federal government.
State and federal agencies will be sampling fish, crab and shrimp for oil using olfactory and chemical tests to determine if oil is still a problem. Ewell Smith, the director of the Louisiana Seafood Marketing Board, reported that more than 27,000 samples have been taken by federal, state and university officials and as of now “everything has come back clean.”
Commercial fishermen who have lost wages because of fishing bans after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill may request compensation from BP. To learn more about recovery for economic losses caused by the BP oil spill, contact the Louisiana maritime lawyers at The Young Firm, 866-938-6113.
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