Oil spill uncertainty has seafood workers on edge
Oil spill uncertainty has seafood workers on edge
APALACHICOLA—Seafood workers and business owners were praying Tuesday that the oil slick from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico wouldn’t make its way to the Big Bend coast, which one businessman said would amount to “Armageddon” for communities already hit hard by the recession and new fishing regulations.
“I’m worried to death about it,” said Steve Rash, owner of Water Street Seafood in Apalachicola, which ships millions of pounds of fish and shellfish around the country each year. “We’re sitting on Apalachicola Bay, one of the most pristine and productive bays in the world. Imagine what a coat of oil would do to it. The shellfish, the oysters, the shrimp and the fish would all be wiped out for who knows how long.”
People who make their living from the Gulf, from Panacea to Port St. Joe, were anxiously watching news coverage to get some idea of where the oil slick will go and when. Many predicted it will never make its way to the Big Bend coast, but Rash and others weren’t so optimistic.
“I would say at some point in the near future, we’re going to have oil to one degree or another in our waters and on our beaches,” Rash said.
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For the moment, state officials remind consumers that Florida waters east of Pensacola Bay remain open for commercial fishing operations.
Terence McElroy, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said federal agencies monitoring the Gulf would extend closures if conditions worsen, “but that’s not the case now and we certainly hope it doesn’t happen.”
In the meantime, “we are harvesting lots of shrimp and oysters, grouper, tilefish and other things,” McElroy said, adding that Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson “wants to remind people to not be scared or concerned about this.”
The oil slick was already having an impact on some seafood houses in Franklin County. David Barber, owner of Barber’s Seafood in Eastpoint, said the oil spill has cut off supply for some out-of-state oysters, which his business relies on to supply seafood to restaurants and wholesalers across Florida. He usually gets six truckloads of oysters a week from Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. This week, he’s expecting to get perhaps only two.
He said he’s been inundated with phone calls from customers around the state.
“Monday was chaos – all the customers were calling,” he said. “All the restaurants are worried. Most of our oysters come from out of state. If it ruins Mississippi and Louisiana, it ruins us.”
Ronnie Hardy, a salesman for Barber’s Seafood, said Eastpoint would become a “ghost town” if the oil spill makes it to shore.
“I’m very worried,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 17 years. It’s my livelihood. That’s the only thing I’ve ever done.”
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Tony Larkin, an oysterman in Eastpoint and single father of three, said the oil spill is only the latest setback for Franklin County seafood workers.
“You worry about being an oysterman every year,” he said. “If it’s not red tide, it’s hurricanes. If it’s not hurricanes, it’s government. It’s always something.”
Millard Collins, dock master at C-Quarters marina on U.S. Highway 98 in Carrabelle, said the oil slick is too far away to worry about right now. He said rules that shortened snapper season by a month and limit the amount of grouper and other fish that can be taken are a bigger economic concern.
“The rules and regulations have hurt us more than the oil spill,” he said, adding that business has been off 65 percent the past couple of years.
Jerry and Sue Tucker, owner of Jerry’s Marine Repair in Panacea, have weathered tropical storms and hurricanes, but they say the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon disaster poses a far bigger threat.
“I’m praying it doesn’t come to us – I think it would devastate our area if it did,” said Sue Tucker. “With hurricanes, we regroup and move on. With this, there’s more concern because we don’t know how long the oil would stay here or how long we’d be shut down.”
Jerry Tucker, a lifelong Wakulla County resident who’s been in business at his U.S. Highway 98 location for about a dozen years, said if the oil spill comes to the Big Bend coast, it would wipe out his business. His customers include commercial fishermen and recreational fishermen who come from South Georgia and other places.
“If they pull the boats out of storage and the marinas and all, everything would be dead,” he said. “It would shut down all your bait-and-tackle stores, your grocery stores. Everything would be affected by it.”
The Tuckers aren’t panicking, however. They say they aren’t convinced the spill will make its way to the Big Bend coast.
“At this point, I’m not really worried,” Jerry Tucker said. “If we get westerly or southwesterly winds, then we’ll have a problem.”
Terry Brewer, owner of Harry A’s restaurant and bar on St. George Island, said his establishment has already been hurt by the recession – business last year was down 25 percent from 2008. He said if the oil slick were to come to Franklin County shores, his business and others could close.
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But Brewer said he doesn’t think the oil slick will make it this way.
“It’s a disaster – don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But I don’t see it coming here. I’m trying to remain positive. If you scare everybody away, there is going to be no tourism.”