Article
Gulf fishermen put BP on the hook for losses [USA]
[Although] federal authorities this week reopened another section of US waters in the Gulf of Mexico that had been closed because of the BP oil spill,...many in the industry...now face an onshore battle: winning over a market made sceptical by so much negative publicity. Sales of Gulf Coast seafood have plummeted...because many consumers want nothing to do with [the] product... Local processing plants say clients have cancelled orders, and some US restaurants are promoting the fact their dishes do not contain gulf seafood... [Many] officials insist any lasting remedy for the gulf’s image as a top producer of seafood must involve science... Locals say that winning back the US gulf’s market share in seafood, worth about $3bn a year before the spill, will require money and long-term advertising. Almost everyone agrees that BP should pay for it... BP says it is working “very closely” with the gulf states and that, with regard to funding promotional campaigns, “these issues will be under discussion”.