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Federal agencies work to ensure safety of Gulf Coast seafood
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Health and fisheries officials from states neighboring the Gulf of Mexico joined leaders from several federal agencies recently to address safety issues for seafood coming from the oil spill region, according to an FDA press release.
In New Orleans, representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency met with state health officers and state fisheries directors from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Strategies discussed included closures of affected waters and surveillance of seafood caught in the area.
The aim was to implement a timeline for sampling and reopening of closed waters that will apply to both state and federal waters and ensure that seafood from the Gulf region is safe to eat.
Fishing and shellfish harvesting areas that may have been exposed to the oil spill have been closed, and fish caught just outside of the closure sites are being monitored.
Although petroleum-based contamination has not yet been detected in the flesh of fish caught outside of the closed areas, ongoing surveillance of these sites will help health officials determine if the size of the closed areas is sufficient.
Participants in the meeting hoped to assure consumers that their food is safe to eat and to assist fishermen in selling their products with confidence.
“No single agency could adequately ensure the safety of seafood coming from the Gulf following this tragedy, but in working together, we can be sure that tainted waters are closed as appropriate, contaminated seafood is not allowed to make it to market, and that closed waters can be reopened to fishing as soon as is safe,” Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said in the press release.