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As the oil spill disaster looms toward Gulf Coast waters, restaurateurs are bracing for the worst. Possibilities like seafood shortages, price hikes and public misconceptions about the safety of seafood are top concerns of Wisconsin’s foodservice operators. Restaurateurs are fretting about the availability, the quality and the prices of seafood products like oysters, shrimp, crab and finfish.
Availability: Approximately 80% of Gulf is Open to Fishing
Unease over contaminated fish and oysters from Gulf Waters has created growing apprehension among restaurateurs since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20. To mitigate concern and take precautionary action, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has restricted commercial and recreational fishing in some areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that were impacted by the spill. As of May 25, 2010, over 45,000 square miles or about 20% of Gulf federal waters have been closed. While these closures certainly create fewer places to harvest seafood, about 80% of the area – roughly 195,000 square miles – remains open for fishing.
Closed areas primarily target highly migratory species, such as tuna and swordfish. Coastal fisheries such as grouper, snapper and shrimp have not been affected at this point. Dr. Jane Lubchenco from NOAA states that “We are doing what science demands of us and are acting with caution to ensure safety of the seafood Americans will put on their dinner plates.”
In 2008, commercial fishermen harvested more than 1 billion pounds of fish and shellfish from the Gulf, accounting for only about 5% of the nation’s total seafood consumption according to NOAA. About 83% of the seafood consumed in the U.S. comes from overseas, says Gavin Gibbons of the National Fisheries Institute, indicating that the broad impact in seafood availability isn’t going to be significant.
Shrimp are the most popular seafood consumed by Americans. USA Today reports, “Of shrimp consumed in the USA, 90% comes from overseas, mostly Thailand, Indonesia, Ecuador, China and Vietnam.” Thus, in most cases, product availability will not be a problem.
Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board stated that “the amount of impact has been minimal at this point.” He continued, “but if this thing [oil slick] sticks around, then we could have another scenario.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will work closely with NOAA to evaluate the need for future fishery closures. The agencies will evaluate reopening areas based on the evolving nature of the spill and as new information becomes available. See the latest fishing boundaries here: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater_horizon_oil_spill.htm
Quality: Seafood Currently on the Market is Safe
A slew of agencies, including NOAA, the FDA and the Fish and Wildlife Service, are carefully monitoring and testing fisheries to make sure fish, oysters and seafood products are safe for consumption. Testing includes daily laboratory samples and using “sniffers” – people trained to detect the presence of oil in seafood using their noses.
These government agencies are “doing everything we can” to ensure that no contaminated products make it to American’s plates, according to Roy Crabtree, regional administrator for NOAA’s Southeast regional office.
The monitoring efforts by the government and the seafood industry make the possibility of significant levels of toxic contamination “extremely unlikely…in anything that gets to market,” according to LuAnn White, of the Tulane University Center for Applied Environmental Public Health.
“There is no reason to believe any contaminated product has been put on the market,” FDA spokeswoman Rita Chappelle wrote on May 18. “Fish and shellfish harvested from areas unaffected by the closures are considered safe to eat.”
The chief quality officer of the seafood inspection program at the United States Department of Commerce, Steven Wilson, advises not to worry about products currently available for sale, stating “this was all harvested and processed prior to the storm [spill].”
Lisa Suatoni, an ocean scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council environmental group, indicated that short-term risk to humans from seafood consumption seemed minimal due to the extensive monitoring. However, she is concerned about the long-term consequences to the food chain. “We may have to do this monitoring for a long, long time, and that’s expensive,” Suatoni remarked.
Prices: Too Early to Tell
While experts say there should be no immediate effect on the supply of seafood, it is possible that prices for shrimp, lobster, crabs and oysters could rise this summer and fall, depending on the extent of the damage from the oil slick.
Seafood products are still available so restaurateurs have no need to worry or stock up. And prices have yet to spike outrageously.
Spokeswoman Annika Stensson of the National Restaurant Association says it’s premature to conclusively determine the effects of the oil spill. Yet, she predicts that the accident will impact the “supply and price of seafood for restaurants nationwide that serve products from this area.”
Like anything in today’s global economy, the market for seafood is international. U.S. businesses and consumers don’t have to depend on the Gulf as the sole source of seafood. Nevertheless, a change in the supply in one area of the world can disrupt the demand everywhere else. When the balance between supply and demand is disrupted, pricing can be impacted.
David Laverne, an economist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, is uncertain what will happen in the short term but says a price increase could happen. On the other hand, he pointed out that foreign seafood imports could also curb shortages and stabilize pricing.
The end result? Shortages in availability and excessive price fluctuations are not expected as a result of this one event. However, we could see a need for changes in seafood plates in Wisconsin restaurants. Anything from increased prices; reduced portions; a trading down to smaller, less expensive sized products; or a shift in the types of fish purchased as we transition to international varieties. Or, it’s possible that nothing will change at all. At this point, it’s just too early to tell.
Note: If you do happen to see an increase in price on a seafood item, discuss the change with your supplier to find out the reason for the increase.
Related Articles:
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Seafood safe, officials say
Seafood testing from Gulf oil disaster could last years
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Better brace for higher seafood prices in wake of BP oil spill, Twin Cities dealers say
Spill's effects unlikely to make way to grocery aisles
Talking Points for Restaurants:
All seafood served in our restaurant is safe.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other federal agencies are testing water and seafood to make sure anything on the market being harvested for consumption is safe.
Fishing closures have been made to any areas in the Gulf that may have been impacted by the oil spill. These precautions are for consumer safety.
Our restaurant is carefully monitoring the sources of our seafood. We are doing everything we can maintain quality and safety for our patrons.
Questions? Contact Susan Quam, Executive Director of the WRA Education Foundation at 800-589-3211.
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