Gulf spill: Tar balls spark partial shrimping ban

[marmar]

NEW ORLEANS — An area off the Gulf Coast hit hard by the BP oil spill was closed Wednesday to fishing for a deepwater shrimp species after a skipper hauled up tar balls in his net, federal regulators said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was closing 4,213 square miles to royal red shrimping "out of an abundance of caution." Royal red shrimp are caught by only a handful of fishermen and they are not one of the main species found on tables across the Gulf Coast. The closed area is one of only a handful of spots where fishermen catch royal red shrimp.

The closed area is off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and lies just north of the BP PLC well that leaked more than 170 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. The leak was set off by an April 20 oil rig explosion that killed 11 workers.

An Alabama skipper reported finding about a half-dozen tar balls in his net Nov. 20, said Karrie Carnes, a NOAA spokeswoman. It took several days to confirm the findings and issue an emergency closure, she said. During that period, she said royal red shrimp fishermen were told about the pending closure and officials made sure no royal red made it to market. .........(more)

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