Amid concerns about the safety and supply of Gulf of Mexico seafood as the BP oil spill disaster continues, the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board has launched a new website to offer updates.
The Louisiana seafood promotion board’s new website, www.louisianaseafoodnews.com, will be updated daily with information on which areas are closed to fishermen, how it is affecting supply and what actions the industry is taking, said Alexis Schneider, spokeswoman for the group.
Ewell Smith, executive director of the promotion board, said, “Disseminating accurate information is essential to the survival of Louisiana's seafood community and we created this site to provide a better resource for people in search of answers and current information.”
The BP oil spill, the result of an explosion April 20 at the offshore Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 people, is affecting beaches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
While the oil spill is likely to hurt local tourism and restaurants in the affected areas, one stock analyst issued a report Tuesday that downplayed the disaster's impact on national chains, such as Red Lobster.
"Despite the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the media reports and pictures of the devastation to the Gulf fishing industry (a third of federal fishing areas are closed), we do not believe there will be any meaningful direct cost or supply impacts to any companies in our coverage," said Steve West of Stifel Nicolaus.
“While Darden has the greatest seafood exposure (Red Lobster), no shrimp and very little finned fish are sourced from the Gulf,” West wrote. “With this in mind, we believe none of our casual-dining group, including BJ's Restaurants, Brinker, Cheesecake Factory, Cracker Barrel and Darden, will be adversely affected from a cost perspective."
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].