Gulf of Mexico seafood prices often peak with summertime demand. But chefs and restaurateurs across the nation are facing even substantially higher fish and shellfish costs as the catastrophic BP leak continues to spew oil into the Gulf.


As a result of the ever-
expanding toxic spill, the costs of shrimp, crab, finfish and oysters already have surged by as much as 25 percent above the norm. 


And, many believe, prices will climb even further before the damage has been contained.