Federal regulators say they are not ready to certify that seafood caught in the region is safe to eat. The fishermen are demanding to reopen much of the area saying fish are safe and they have already lost much of the season to the spill. But the authorities are not in favour of reopening the affected areas. In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal recently decided to open recreational fishing. But he can’t do that same for the state’s commercial fishermen without approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Jindal, a Republican, depicted Louisiana as the victim of a ham-handed federal response to the emergency, saying that despite months of testing, inspectors have not found any tainted fish. The FDA, Jindal complained, is moving much too slowly, amid a backlog of fish awaiting testing.
Alabama and Mississippi are making the same argument and wondering what is taking so long. Livelihoods are at stake, they argue. Sure, some waters should remain closed, the say, but most are clear of oil and full of clean Gulf seafood. Report says that many fishermen have signed on to help BP with clean up and are making good money. He says they probably won’t give up their jobs with BP, even if fishing reopens.
