A year after the BP oil spill in the gulf the negative effects it had on the fishing industry are beginning to wear off. Consumers' concern over the the safety of the fish has fallen 15% to around 75% since last year. The amount of people avoiding gulf seafood has also fallen to 25% from around 60%. Despite these upturns, the fisherman are still having a tough time competing with foreign imports due to high fuel costs, stricter regulations and catch limits.
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Fishermen (and the environment) seem to be the real losers from the BP oil spill, which is extremely unfortunate. There is another issue that fishermen are facing: trying to get their claims from BP (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/us/19spill.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=bp%20oil%20spill%20claims&st=cse). Though, as mentioned in the article, there are bound to be frivolous claims, other legitimate ones should not be overlooked. Especially when these hard-working people are dealing with so many other issues.
Just because consumer concerns over the safety of the fish has fallen does not mean that the supply of these fish into the market is not and will not be affected. The Gulf of Mexico is the spawning area for many commercial fish, including the Blue fin Tuna who were in the peak of the spawning period when the BP oil spill occurred. The oil spill's impact on this fish, which much of the Sushi we consume contains will not be felt for years to come.
This is nothing unexpected. Consumers will always have worries and with the monumental oil spill in the gulf, of course they are skeptical when purchasing these fish. The fisherman are losing many consumers thanks to BP, however, they will see those numbers return in the next few years as the oil is cleaned. This will always be in the back of people's minds however and I don't see the demand ever being as high as it once was.
It's amazing how quickly the Gulf waters have returned to safe levels of oil and dispersant's. Many thought that the BP oil spill would affect the fishing industry for years to come because of the contaminated water. It seems the spill is still affecting the industry albeit for different reasons.
The spill, and the images of thousands of gallons of oil gushing into the Gulf are still fresh in people's minds and may still affect the American psyche for years to come. But I wonder if a large scale publicity campaign might bring consumers' confidence in Gulf seafood back up.
Scott I would think so. Even large publicity from news coverage. I continuously see stories about the fish market in the New York Times and how it has seen growth due to the quick clean up effect the dispersants had on the oil over the year. You make a good point about the oil spill still being fresh in peoples minds. I myself can't believe it has already been a year.
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