The debate over gulf seafood – is it safe eating gulf seafood has become  one of the most talked about issues in the social circles today. A lot has been said and written on the issue by experts and food specialists. As per NOAA and FDA it is completely safe to have seafood. Though there are wide claims about seafood being safe – the local fishermen still do not trust the fishes in the Gulf.

Bill Thompson of Long Beach, Mississippi says that "Fishermen here are calling it 'Voodoo seafood' because we are all cursed’’. Very recently fishermen from Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Missisippi and Alabama gathered in Biloxi to discuss the issue, because they are not sure who to trust on this matter. Thompson adds "We do not think it is safe but the state officials say it is. Who do you trust? The people who know these waters or the government?"

Very recently Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reported that all samples which have been tested since the oil spill have shown NO signs of being contamination. Though a section of the seafood industry seems to agree to reports by FDA, majority of others do not believe it to be true. Hopkins of Dean Blanchard Seafood, which supplies 11% of US shrimps says that "The cleanup isn't even close to being done," Dawn Nunez who owns a wholesale business says that "The last thing I want to do is scare anyone away from the seafood down here,But if I’m not eating it or feeding it to my children, I can’t advise anyone else to eat it either."

Martin O’Connell - University of New Orleans’ says that oil components wouldn’t accumulate which means they are not going to affect the bio chain. However, a corexity sort of fingerprint which is detected in tiny blue crab larvae makes us think again. Martin O’Connell says  "If you're a small fish and you eat 1,000 of these small crab larvae and all of them have oil or Corexit droplets in them they could get into the fish.. that little fish could be eaten and so on and so on,"

Dr. George Crozier who is the director of Dauphin Island Sea Lab is worried about the chemical compounds and other potential build ups which is taking place in the food chain. George says that “If we do see over the years fish accumulating PAH, it will almost certainly be attributable to Deepwater Horizon… I can imagine 10 or 20 years from now there will be the same kind of health warnings about say, grouper or snapper from the centre of the Gulf, that apply to tuna from all over the world, for mercury.”

The debate continues – we can say that some seafood might be safe while others are not – it is dependant on where the fish swam and several other related facts. 

Image credits - csmonitor.com