BP’s catastrophic rig explosion resulting in tons of crude oil seeping into the Gulf Coast April 20 may have not been introduced into Galveston’s waters just yet, but the seafood industry and Houston restaurants are most certainly feeling the aftermath of the worst spill in U.S. history.

Local restaurant owners are facing problems with supply and demand, rising prices of underwater delicacies, public perception of the quality of food and shortages.

On May 13, Pappas Restaurants Incorporated decided to sue BP, Transocean and Halliburton companies as a result for their inconveniences faced. In an article from ABC13 News, Pappas Restaurants said, “the companies’ reckless negligence caused the spill, and that because of the oil and fishing ban, [their] restaurants will have to significantly raise prices and in the process will lose customers.”

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Gulf State health and fisheries officials joined with senior leaders from several federal agencies to affirm a shared commitment to ensuring the safety of seafood coming out of the Gulf of Mexico, through closures of affected waters, surveillance, and with an eye toward reopening closed waters as soon as possible, consistent with public health goals.

Representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) met last week in New Orleans with state health officers and state fisheries directors from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to coordinate implementation of a joint protocol for sampling and reopening that will apply to both state and federal waters.  

Together, they will implement a comprehensive, coordinated, multi-agency program to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat. This is important not only for consumers who need to know their food is safe to eat, but also for fishermen who need to be able to sell their products with confidence.

“No single agency could adequately ensure the safety of seafood coming from the Gulf following this tragedy, but in working together, we can be sure that tainted waters are closed as appropriate, contaminated seafood is not allowed to make it to market, and that closed waters can be reopened to fishing as soon as is safe,” said Eric Schwaab, Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service.

State and federal authorities reached a critical step toward reopening with their agreement on a shared protocol that will be applied as oil contamination abates in federal and state waters.  

State authorities in Louisiana are applying the protocol to consider the possible reopening of two areas and NOAA is applying the protocol to consider the reopening of two closed areas off the coasts of Louisiana and Florida.  

“We understand the devastating effects this spill has had on the Gulf states and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with state and federal partners to ensure that these important protocols are implemented efficiently, effectively, and in a way that makes sense for all involved, while maintaining the number one priority we all share – protecting the health of those in the Gulf Coast and across the country,” said Michael Taylor, FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Foods.

The first and most important preventive step in protecting the public from potentially contaminated seafood is to close fishing and shellfish harvesting areas in the Gulf that have been or are likely to be exposed to oil from the spill.  

In addition, NOAA and FDA are monitoring fish caught just outside of closed areas, and testing them for petroleum compounds, to ensure that the closed areas are sufficiently large so as to prevent the harvest of contaminated fish. So far, fish flesh tested from outside the closure areas have tested well below any level of concern for oil-based contamination.

It has been two months since the explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused massive amounts of crude oil to begin leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, and in that time, industry across the Gulf Coast has been affected, from the commercial fishing industry to tourism to food distribution.

As a region known for its cuisine, the Gulf Coast restaurant industry – particularly the seafood industry – has been the focus of international attention, and in May, several restaurants from Louisiana and Florida filed a class action suit against BP, plc, BP Products North America, Inc., and BP America, Inc., whom the U.S. Coast Guard identified as the “responsible party,” according to the Oil Pollution Act.

The class action was originally filed on May 18 on behalf of several plaintiffs who are restaurant owners and others in the seafood service industry in Louisiana and Florida who have or will suffer lost profits as a result of the subsequent oil spill following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Over the course of the past month, several more restaurants in Texas and Arkansas have joined the action, proving just how vast this spill has become.

The named plaintiffs include restaurants and seafood wholesalers in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Florida. Louisiana plaintiffs include Franky and Johnny’s; Tello’s Bistro; Zeke’s Restaurant; Cafe Maspero; Pete’s Restaurant; Red River Grill; Crazy Lobster restaurant; Poppy’s Seafood Factory restaurant; Roy Marris Seafood; New Orleans Fish House, LLC; Eleven 79 Restaurant; and wholesale distributer P.A. Menard, Inc.

In Florida, restaurants include Poppy’s Crazy Lobster of Destin, Poppy’s Time Out Sports Bar & Grill of Orlando and Poppy’s Dancin’ Iguana of Destin. New to the Class Action are several Kelley’s Country Cookin’ locations throughout Texas and Arkansas’ Big Bayou Market and Who Dat’s, Inc.

New Orleans’ signature restaurants K-Paul’s, Brigtsen’s and Charlie’s Seafood have also intervened.

As a Class Action, the claim has been filed on behalf of the named plaintiffs as well as all individuals or businesses that own and/or operate restaurants and/or wholesale seafood distributors located in those states that touch and/or border on the Gulf of Mexico.

The action states that, due to the dangerous environmental contamination as a result of the oil leak, “fishing, shrimping, oystering and other commercial activities have been suspended, and will likely continue to be legally and/or effectively reduced,” therefore causing a loss of revenue and earning capacity for these restaurants.

Stephen Herman of New Orleans-based law firm Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar (www.hhkc.com), is the attorney for the Plaintiffs. The firm’s position is that restaurants and others in the food service industry who suffer economic losses due to the oil spill are covered by the 1990 Oil Pollution Act (OPA), and therefore the firm is seeking a formal judgment from the Court to set the standard for appropriate claims.

“While good fresh, local seafood is still available, and we are hopeful that BP will cap the well and things will return to normal,” explains Herman, “prices have already begun to rise, and there is a significant risk that loss of tourism and oil services jobs will diminish the customer base.  Depending on the long-term environmental effects, these restaurants also face the risk of losing customers as a result of higher prices and limited availability.”

BP has recently hired Washington-based attorney Kenneth Feinberg as their oil spill claims manager charged with the task of speeding up payments to businesses and individuals who are losing income as a direct result of the oil rig accident and subsequent spill. He will focus on claims from individuals and businesses for economic loss and will likely be using the standards set by OPA as a guide. Feinberg is in the process of developing standards and procedures for the submission of claims to the fund.

Stephen Herman and his firm are trying to work with Feinberg and BP to shape the elements of the ICF program.

“The key,” says Herman, “is making sure that this fund provides commercial fisherman, oyster lease holders, restaurant owners, hotel owners and others with the relief to which they are entitled, without compromising or limiting the right to appeal or other claims that they may have.  For example, some affected property owners and fishermen may have claims for punitive or other damages against parties other than BP – Transocean, for example, or Halliburton.  We will have to wait and see the details, but we would likely have to advise our clients not to participate in a process where they might not get the relief to which they are entitled under the Oil Pollution Act, if, in order to participate, they would have to waive or release such claims.”

The class action suit alleges that BP “knew of the dangers associated with deep water drilling and failed to take appropriate measures to prevent damage to Plaintiffs, Louisiana’s and the Gulf of Mexico’s marine and coastal environments and estuarine areas, and the Coastal Zone.”

The Gulf oil spill is forcing the removal of oysters from Red Lobster’s menu.

A Franklin, La., processing plant that provided Orlando-based Darden Restaurants with oysters for its Red Lobster chain shut down last week because it was unable to maintain its supply.

AmeriPure Processing Co.’s co-owner and founder said the closure could last through October.

Once Red Lobster’s current supply runs out, probably in the next couple of weeks, oysters will come off the menu, Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers said Monday. It’s uncertain when they’ll return.

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Yes, the Fabian Seafoood truck will be in Madison again tomorrow, Tuesday, June 22, in the parking lot of Steve’s Liquor, 3618 University Ave. from noon to 6 p.m., with its haul of fresh Gulf seafood — mostly shrimp, some crab, red snapper and crawfish tails.

Longtime Madison customers of the shrimp truck, as it’s popularly known, are notified of Fabian’s about-once-every-three-week reappearance in the Madison area by postcard or email.

In the email notification for tomorrow’s market, truck operator Steve Fabian notes: “We are still getting fresh shrimp, though supplies are tight due to the BP oil spill and the closure of the Gulf in that area. Prices have risen all along the Gulf coast as a result, but we are trying not to pass the increase onto our customers for now. Hopefully they will cap it off soon and get it cleaned up.”

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The Gulf oil disaster has likely reached your dinner plate if you’re a fan of seafood.

At Bushel’s Seafood Café in Lawrenceville, owner Earl McGinnis has found getting his hands on shrimp has been no small undertaking.

On Monday, he received his first shipment of Gulf White Shrimp in a week-and-a-half. It came just in time. After running out of shrimp last week, McGinnis closed for two days to await a fresh supply.

“It’s not good,” said McGinnis. “This is like the time of year we count on. People like eating seafood during the summer. It’s a big hit.”

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For most of its 6-1/2 year existence, Mara’s Homemade, a tiny restaurant on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, has stood as a 750-square-foot monument to Louisiana culture. Only recently have the restaurant’s owners felt compelled to defend it.

“People are hesitant to eat anything,” said Mara Levi, who runs the New Orleans-style restaurant with her husband David. “I’ve already had two people today ask, ‘Is the crawfish safe to eat?’ I have to tell them we wouldn’t have it if we didn’t think they should eat it.”

Levi started fielding such questions soon after the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded two months ago today, unleashing a geyser of oil that continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico.

But New Orleans-themed restaurants — to say nothing of restaurants in New Orleans — are not the only ones playing host to diners suspicious of seafood associated with the Gulf Coast. Restaurateurs, chefs and seafood suppliers across the country continue to struggle with the perception that Louisiana seafood in particular and Gulf seafood in general is tainted by the oil spill.

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The oil in the Gulf of Mexico is devastating the seafood industry, and customer concerns have a local restaurant owner detailing where his seafood comes from.

“We’re on heightened stress,” said Jeff Good, who owns three restaurants in Jackson. “It’s almost like a terror alert.”

Good runs Bravo Restaurant, Broad Street Bakery and Sal and Mookie’s New York Pizza and Ice Cream Joint. He said the oil’s impact on marine life is hurting business because seafood is getting harder to find.

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Diamond Ranch Foods, Ltd., a meat, poultry and seafood processing and foodservice distribution company, is pleased to announce today that the Company has officially concluded the acquisition of all customer accounts of Executive Seafood.

Executive Seafood is a premiere seafood wholesaler that has established its success by serving many of the most upscale restaurants and country clubs in the tri-state area. Now operating out of the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in New York City, the largest food distribution center in the world, Executive Seafood will immediately have direct access to a greater number of customer segments, including seafood retailers, supermarkets, hotels, catering operators, schools and other institutions to name a few.

Today, as one of the select seafood wholesale businesses, Executive Seafood offers the freshest and most diverse selection of seafood anywhere with uniquely competitive pricing and year round availability. Additionally, this strategic acquisition enhances Diamond Ranch Foods’ diverse suite of quality meat and poultry products, by providing the Company’s existing customers and potential new clients with a highly advantageous single delivery option for all their quality meat, poultry and seafood needs.

Diamond Ranch Foods is a highly strategic food group distributor and processor of a broad selection of the finest quality meats, poultry, seafood, and foodservice items, including private label and custom-cuts, which can be prepared fresh, frozen or vacuum-packed. The Company operates a fleet of refrigerated trucks for delivery throughout the New York metropolitan area and ships coast to coast via common carrier.

The Company‘s USDA-inspected facility is located in the Hunts Point Cooperative Market (Bronx, New York), which is the largest food distribution center in the world , and boasts a highly-diversified customer base throughout the tri-state region, including; supermarket chains, restaurants, hotels, deli/catering operators, institutions and industry suppliers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are taking additional steps to enhance inspection measures designed to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico reaching America’s tables is safe to eat.

The federal government, in conjunction with Gulf States’ regulatory agencies, is playing an active role in ensuring the safety of seafood harvested from federal and state waters. The federal government, led by FDA and NOAA, is taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure that seafood from Gulf waters is not contaminated by oil. The strategy includes precautionary closures, increased seafood testing inspections and a re-opening protocol.  

“Closing harvest waters that could be exposed to oil protects the public from potentially contaminated seafood because it keeps the product from entering the food supply,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Combining the expertise of NOAA and FDA is the best way to use our scientific abilities to help the American people in this emergency.”

The first line of defense is NOAA’s fishery area closures, which began May 2 and are adjusted as the spill trajectory changes. FDA has concurred with this approach. The current federal closure of 32 percent of federal waters encompasses areas known to be affected by oil, either on the surface or below the surface, as well as areas projected to be affected by oil in the next 48 – 72 hours. The closed area also includes a five-nautical-mile buffer as a precaution around the known location of oil.

“FDA and NOAA are working together to ensure that seafood from the Gulf is not contaminated with oil,” said Margaret Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs. “It is important to coordinate seafood surveillance efforts on the water, at the docks and at seafood processors to ensure seafood in the market is safe to eat.”

To help prevent tainted seafood from reaching the market, NOAA created a seafood sampling and inspection plan. Just after the beginning of the spill, it collected and tested seafood of commercial and recreational fish and shellfish species from areas where oil from the spill had not yet reached. NOAA is using ongoing surveillance to evaluate new seafood samples to determine whether contamination is present outside the closed area. If fish samples have elevated levels of oil compounds, NOAA will consider whether to expand closed areas.

The federal effort to ensure seafood is not contaminated with oil will also include NOAA’s dockside sampling of fish products in the Gulf. NOAA will verify that catch was caught outside the closed area using information from vessel monitoring systems that track the location of a vessel or information from on-board observers. If tainted fish are found in dockside sampling, NOAA will notify FDA and state health officials for further action.

FDA operates a mandatory safety program for all fish and fishery products under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act and related federal regulations.  

FDA will first target oysters, crab, and shrimp, which due to their biology retain contaminants longer than finfish, for additional sampling. Finfish rapidly metabolize the oil so the risk of exposure is far less than the other seafood species previously mentioned. The sample collection will target primarily seafood processors who buy seafood directly from the harvester.  Monitoring this first step in the distribution chain will help to keep any potentially contaminated seafood from consumers.  

FDA has also created a focused inspection assignment designed to help seafood processors review their individual source controls to ensure proper documentation and exclusion of any seafood obtained from unknown sources from entering commerce.

The two agencies are also establishing a re-opening protocol. NOAA will reopen closed areas only if it is assured, based on consultation with FDA, that fish products within the closed area meet FDA standards for public health and wholesomeness.  

“We recognize that the effects of the oil spill continue to grow as oil continues to flow,” said Dr. Lubchenco. “As remediation efforts continue, it may be possible to alleviate some of the economic harm caused by the oil spill by reopening previously closed areas. NOAA will reopen areas only if assured that fish products taken from these areas meet FDA standards for public health.”

Before the BP oil spill, NOAA operated seafood inspection services in the Gulf – consisting of a handful of personnel – on a fee-for-service basis for the seafood industry.

Today, samples collected as part of NOAA’s efforts are sent to the National Seafood Inspection Laboratory in Pascagoula, Miss., where federal and state sensory testing analysts trained to detect certain thresholds of chemicals, which are not normal background odors in seafood, evaluate the catch. Samples are also sent to NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle for chemical testing.

According to the most recent data available, seafood samples had been collected during 18 sampling missions by NOAA and contracted fishing vessels in areas inside and outside the closed fishery area.

From those 18 sampling missions, 640 fish and shrimp samples were processed for either sensory or chemical testing. Of the 640 samples, 118 fish samples were presented to the team of 10 expert assessors for sensory testing in the Pascagoula Laboratory. Four hundred sixteen fish and shrimp samples were sent to NOAA’s Seattle testing laboratory for chemical analysis.  

“FDA has set up a hotline for reporting seafood safety issues,” said Commissioner Hamburg. “We encourage fisherman and consumers to report potential contamination to 1-888-INFO-FDA.”

FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety and quality of more than a trillion dollars worth of products that are critical for the survival and well-being of all Americans. Find FDA online at www.fda.gov.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us at http://www.noaa.gov or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov.

According to Za Restaurant Chef/Owner Mark Valenza a common preservative used to extend the shelf life of deep water scallops has diners wondering if what they’re being served has gone bad or been contaminated.

Recent events have raised concerns about where seafood is caught or raised, how it is processed, and what methods are used to maintain freshness and prevent contamination.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, part of NOAA, is not reporting any current scallop bed contamination. The Atlantic sea scallop population remains high and no overfishing is occurring. New Jersey scallops beds are managed under the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fisheries Management Plan to maximize scallop yields and protect the beds of young scallops.

“Menu labeling,” says Chef Valenza, ”claiming scallops are day-boat or diver scallops may not be a reliable indicator of whether the scallops being served are fresh and unadulterated.”

The northeast has the largest wild scallop fishery (Placopecten magellanicus). “The New Jersey scallop beds are a national culinary treasury,” says Chef Valenza. “I hate to hear anyone has been served an inferior product. It casts suspicion over what should always be premier seafood experience.”

Scallops range in both size and quality. The primary differences are ocean (large) and bay (small); fresh and frozen; and day-boat (dry) and preserved (wet). Frozen scallops may be of excellent quality but mishandling, especially during the thawing process, serves up an inferior morsel.

“My special wrath,” says Chef Valenza, “is saved for those processed scallops that are preserved.” Atlantic scallops are preserved with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) to maintain their moisture during processing and shipping. But the treatment leaves an offensive side effect.

Have you ever had scallops that taste soapy or like iodine? Then you’ve had preserved (wet) scallops. Buying fresh scallops? If they’re as white as a toothpaste model’s smile and/or swimming in liquid, they’re probably preserved.

Here’s the problem, many places play the game of passing off preserved scallops as “day-boat” fresh scallops. This switch can happen at the fish market, wholesale distributor, at a local restaurant or restaurant chain. It’s been going on for years. The reason is cost and availability.

Chef Valenza admits to being wary of ordering scallops when he dines out, especially when the price is out of whack with what a true, fresh, unpreserved day-boat scallop should cost.

Here’s why they call them day-boat and why they cost more. Simply put, as the last scallops caught before the boat returns to port, they haven’t been on the boat for more than a day and they have not be treated with preservatives.

True day-boat scallops can’t travel far because they won’t last more than a few days. But you’ll never taste a better scallop.   

At Za, freshly delivered scallops are tested to make sure they haven’t been treated with STP. “We know, just by how they cook,” according to Chef Valenza, if they have been treated they don’t sear properly.

Chef Valenza insists that he will continue to serve scallops at Za Restaurant, so long as he can assure diners they are the real thing.

United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today sent a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Karen Mills highlighting several initiatives aimed at assisting small businesses being impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“As I write to you today, Gulf Coast small businesses continue to struggle with the growing economic impact from the disaster,” Senator Landrieu said in the letter. “This is because, in addition to the current six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling, there is a ripple effect of the multiple fisheries closures as well as a slowdown in tourism due to the oil spill. Depending on the season, up to 40 percent of the nation’s commercial seafood harvest comes from the Gulf of Mexico. The tourism and fisheries impacts of the disaster threaten the continued viability of our Gulf Coast restaurants, ice houses, processors, grocery stores, and other small businesses. ”

In her letter, Senator Landrieu requested the SBA turn attention to the following federal assistance programs:

• SBA Disaster Loan Interest Relief: In total, there are over 12,000 disaster loans outstanding from the 2005/2008 hurricanes with businesses who employ about 40,000 people. Landrieu requests the Obama Administration’s support for interest relief of up to $15,000 on outstanding disaster loans from the 2005/2008 hurricanes. This proposal, intended to inject immediate capital into these businesses, is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and numerous Gulf Coast local governments/organizations. It has also been endorsed by the New York Times and the Times-Picayune newspapers.
• Collateral on SBA Disaster Loans: To date, SBA has approved 52 Gulf Coast oil spill-related Economic Injury Disaster Loans totaling $2.2 million. SBA has indicated that it will accept the “best available” collateral from businesses seeking disaster loans. This collateral could include personal real estate, equipment, or business property. Landrieu presses SBA to examine different types of collateral that could be used and to not further burden businesses that are now, in some cases, facing their second or third disaster since 2005. She also urges SBA to coordinate with BP for borrowers interested in putting up their BP claims as collateral towards these disaster loans.
• Reimbursement from BP: The Oil Pollution Trust Fund, established by the Oil Pollution Act, is available to reimburse Federal agencies for operations related to response and compensation provisions after an oil spill. The SBA has increased its staff by 125 employees to respond to this disaster and set up 28 Business Recovery Centers in the Gulf Coast. Landrieu requests that SBA contact BP to receive appropriate compensation. Similarly, as the SBA disburses Economic Injury Disaster Loans to businesses and fishermen in impacted states, the agency should also seek reimbursement from BP for these loan amounts. Lastly, local Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are currently assisting businesses with both the BP claims process and SBA disaster loan process. Landrieu pushes for SBA, in coordination with the SBDCs, to seek compensation from BP for these services being provided as a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

On May 27, 2010, the Small Business Committee held a hearing on the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster on Gulf Coast small businesses. In that hearing, the Committee heard from members of the U.S. Coast Guard and federal agencies on the claims process and assistance available to small businesses. To date, the SBA has approved 52 Economic Injury Disaster Loans. BP indicated at that hearing, they had received over 26,000 claims, of which 12,000 claims have been paid, totaling $36 million. To view complete coverage of the May 27th hearing, please click here.

On Thursday, June 17th, the Committee will hold a hearing highlighting the contracting process for proposals for the oil spill cleanup. Live video from the hearing can be viewed at http://sbc.senate.gov.

Talk about bad timing. The sky blue paint was barely dry on the walls of Shuck ‘Em Shack, a new seafood restaurant and oyster bar in Garner, when the BP oil spill began wreaking havoc in the oyster market.

With the supply of Gulf oysters all but cut off, owners Phil and Erica Banks have turned elsewhere.

“We’ve been getting oysters from Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, even Maine,” says Phil Banks, “but the prices are going through the roof. Chesapeake Bay oysters have gone up 75 percent in just four days.”

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Tommy Cvitanovich is still serving his world famous charbroiled oysters at both locations of his New Orleans restaurant Drago’s. But he’s not serving raw oysters anymore. So much fresh water is being pumped into Louisiana wetlands to try to keep oil out that he believes they don’t have the perfect briny taste. Frank Brigtsen, chef and owner of uptown bistro Brigtsen’s, took oysters off the menu today. They’re getting too pricey and too rare. At Antoine’s, the legendary French Quarter restaurant, executive chef Mike Regua still serves Oysters Rockefeller, but he recently bought 3,000 pounds of shrimp and put them in a special cold storage unit, worried that fresh shrimp will be too scarce and too expensive in coming months.

As BP struggles to control the ruptured oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, chefs up and down the Gulf Coast are fighting their own battles—struggling to help their seafood suppliers, laboring to keep fresh fish on the menu and trying to dispel rumors and misperceptions that could damage the image of Gulf seafood for years to come.

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International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) and NOAA’s Fisheries Service will provide seafood sensory training at NOAA’s National Seafood Inspection Lab in Pascagoula, MS on June 16 and 17. The program will provide hands-on training with actual seafood products to develop skills in sensory detection for taint in seafood exposed to oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Food safety professionals from all five Gulf states have participated in the 2-day program.

Members of the media are invited to observe and photograph demonstrations of the training and conduct interviews. Seafood and food safety experts from IFPTI and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service as well as students will be available for interviews:

• Gerald Wojtala, Executive Director of IFPTI
• Dr. Lisa Desfosse, Lab Director, NOAA’s Fisheries Service

To arrange interviews, please contact Joan Bowman, IFPTI’s Communications Director at (269) 350-1811 or Christine Patrick, Public Affairs Officer for NOAA’s Fisheries Service at 202-407-3117 (cell).

The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization delivering career-spanning food protection training for state and local food protection professionals to assure competency and equivalency in meeting established U.S. federal food safety standards. Working in partnership with the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), the Institute seeks to protect the public’s health by working with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial food protection officials in the creation of an integrated national food protection system that ensures the safety of the U.S. food supply. Initial funding for IFPTI has been provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. For more information, visit www.ifpti.org.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Fisheries Service is the federal agency, a division of the Department of Commerce, responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s living marine resources and their habitat. NOAA’s Fisheries Service is responsible for the management, conservation and protection of living marine resources within the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone (water three to 200 mile offshore).

Using the tools provided by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service assesses and predicts the status of fishstocks, ensures compliance with fisheries regulations and works to reduce wasteful fishing practices. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service recovers protected marine species (i.e. whales, turtles) without unnecessarily impeding economic and recreational opportunities.

With the help of the six regional offices and eight councils, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service is able to work with communities on fishery management issues. NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service works to promote sustainable fisheries and to prevent lost economic potential associated with overfishing, declining species and degraded habitats. NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service strives to balance competing public needs. For more information, visit www.noaa.gov.

Jindal and others gathered at Acme Oyster House in the French Quarter — where they called on BP to approve the 20-year, $457 million plan. It would allow the state to set up labs and equipment to test seafood for hydrocarbons and other chemicals, as well improve nationwide confidence in Louisiana seafood.

In addition, a seafood certification program, similar to USDA certifications, would be set up. The plan also calls for a long term, nationwide marketing campaign.

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When David Bowes cooks a freshly caught wild salmon on the grill at his restaurant on the British Columbia coast he doesn’t embellish it with marinades or sauces.

And in fact, with a few exceptions, none of the shellfish he prepares gets much added to it and this the chef’s reason.

“I let these seafoods speak for themselves,” says the 54-year-old owner of The Laughing Oyster Restaurant in Lund, B.C., located on Okeover Inlet north of Powell River on the Sunshine Coast. “I find some of the less complex recipes are the very best.”

Wild salmon season is now in full swing and Bowes says there is no better species than a sockeye to cook on the grill.

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U.S. shrimpers who comb seas unaffected by the oil-slickened Gulf are raising prices as demand for their catch rises, bringing a potential — but bittersweet — respite from some tough years.

“We are getting calls from buyers who haven’t bought from us in awhile and who are offering more money,” said Rutledge Leland, owner of Carolina Seafood in McClellanville, S.C.

Fishermen in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Texas, whose waters have not been affected by oil, say prices for their shrimp have gone up as processing plants that normally buy Gulf seafood turn to other docks for their supply.

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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), in coordination with Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Department of Health, issued an executive order to temporarily close a portion of coastal state waters offshore of Escambia County to the harvest of saltwater fish, crabs and shrimp. The FWC is taking precautionary actions regarding harvest and consumption of these marine species, which may be affected by oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The closure includes state waters from the beaches out 9 nautical miles into the Gulf from the Alabama line east to the Pensacola Beach water tower. Interior bays and estuaries remain open to fishing. This area covers approximately 23 miles of Florida’s coastline in Escambia County, where oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill is now present.

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From the bridge of his 75-foot trawler, Capt. Wayne Magwood looked grimly at the sea and wondered if he will catch enough shrimp to pay the bills this year.

Last winter’s unusually cold weather delayed the start of the commercial shrimp season — a decision that cost Magwood thousands of dollars.

And now, Magwood fears that oil spilling in the Gulf of Mexico could squeeze the only business he’s ever known.

“I’m worried about it, sure,” the 58-year-old Magwood said as he guided his boat, the Winds of Fortune, off Mount Pleasant last week. “There is a lot more pressure on us this year. We had this late start to the season. And we have to worry about oil.”

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