Photo: lsgcp, Flickr
On Sunday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) closed fishing in federal waters affected by the massive oil spill in the Gulf, which continues to drift towards Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
This area of the Gulf is prized for its shrimp, oyster and blue-crab fisheries, currently at their peak spawning period. While approximately 80 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported -- meaning most seafood lover's dinner plates will not be directly impacted by the spill -- the area's fishery is significant. In 2008, more than 1 billion pounds of finfish and shellfish were harvested from the Gulf region. Experts predict that Louisiana's fishing industry alone could face a $2.5 billion loss.
"This is iconic American seafood," says Gavin Gibbons, spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute. "When you get past looking at the volume of seafood affected, you start looking at the lives impacted, and it's a tough row to hoe for those fishermen."

Maybe the Boston Molasses Disaster is
imprinted on the collective memories of folks in Boston, but it was news to me. Apparently, on January 15, 1919, a 50
foot tall tank of molasses (the common sweetener of the time) burst, sending 2.5 million gallons of the sweet goo
hurtling through the city at a reported speed of 35 miles per hour, killing 21 people and injuring 150 others. The
initial wave of molasses was between eight and 15 feet high, according to a
Now that we know all the foods we want to eat 


