After months and months of bad news out of the Gulf, more and more good news keeps coming. TheAlabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has reopened their Gulf of Mexico waters to fishing.
From the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources release:
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Marine
Resources Division (MRD) announces the re-opening to the harvest of fish
from all areas previously closed as a precautionary response to the
presence of oil from the Deepwater Horizon Incident. These areas include
all Alabama Gulf of Mexico waters out to three miles and the remaining
closed waters of Mobile Bay that are just north of the Fort Morgan
Peninsula. These waters reopened at 6 a.m., Monday, August 16. This
includes both commercial and recreational fishing. In addition to
finfish, the area north of Fort Morgan is also open to shrimping.
ADCNR has worked closely with the Alabama Department of Public
Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to ensure the health and
safety of the public during the events following the Deepwater Horizon
incident. In correspondence addressing the results of recent testing of
seafood from the remaining closed areas, the FDA states that, “Sensory
evaluation of 50 finfish and 16 shrimp samples for odors indicative of
contamination was conducted on August 11-12, 2010. No samples
demonstrated odors indicative of oil or dispersant contamination. After
sensory evaluation, the samples were forwarded to a chemistry laboratory
for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) analysis. Compositing of
like species from like sample locations resulted in 10 separate finfish
and three separate shrimp samples for PAH analysis. All samples were
analyzed using the LC-Fluorescence method. The chemical analyses were
completed on August 13, 2010. PAH levels in all samples are
significantly below the levels of concern established in the reopening
protocol, which was agreed upon by Alabama officials, NOAA and FDA.”
Harvest of crabs is still prohibited in all areas that were closed
including the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi Sound, Pelican Bay and the
area in Mobile Bay north of Fort Morgan. Analyses are currently being
conducted on blue crabs from affected areas. The results will be made
public as soon as they are received.
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