Hurricane Hitting Oil Spill Worries Oyster Industry

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Mike Voisin of the Gulf Oyster Industry Council says oyster harvesting continues in about 50 percent of the productive areas. He says the state closes areas on short notice for testing, making it difficult for fishermen to plan their harvesting. But he says he's most worried about where a hurricane could push contaminated water.

"If I have a worst nightmare, it's we have an early season storm and it comes in in the western side of Louisiana and it pushes this oil into Louisiana into Mississippi and into Alabama and Florida, That's kind of the worst-case scenario right now."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has now closed about 26 percent of federal waters from fishing.
For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.