"Gulf of Mexico oil spill" news and stories

There are plenty of signs that chefs and seafood lovers continue to wrestle with whether to serve and eat fish from the Gulf of Mexico. Many consumers have safety concerns, despite repeated assurances by the federal government and seafood promotion officials. Stories of illegal fishing haven't helped to bolster confidence either. According to FoodSafetyNews.com, more than a dozen catches have been dumped at sea because fishing had been taking place in closed waters. The result? Once bustling restaurants like Snapper's Seafood in Biloxi, Miss. are now painfully short on customers.

But many say that Thursday's move by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association will go a long way to ease the safety concerns of eaters.

NOAA announced it was reopening over 26,000 square miles of the closed Gulf area to commercial and recreational fishing. Why? Because according to their data, no oil spill has been observed in the area since mid-June. Additionally, fish caught in the area and tested by experts have shown no signs of contamination. The reopened area is approximately 190 miles southeast of the Deepwater/BP well, with most fishing occurring 220 miles from the BP site.