THE OIL SPILL AND LOUISIANA

The recent BP oil spill disaster has left a large negative impact on Louisiana which is now resulting to a number of oil spill claims among the residents of the affected areas. Louisiana’s distinct and fragile coastline has some of the richest waters in the world, one reason why it is supporting huge seafood and fishing industry that supplies most of America’s seafood. Any considerable change done on this rich coastline will have a considerable effect on a huge part of America’s seafood industry as well.

As the State of Louisiana is bordered to the west by the state of Texas; to the north by Arkansas; to the east by the state of Mississippi; and to the south by the Gulf of Mexico, these neighboring states have also been affected by the disaster and thus the accumulation of more oil spill claims.

The fragile Coastal lowlands and Marsh Eco region are a crucial part of the local food chain, covering over 10,000 square miles of Louisiana and providing thousands of tons of food for shrimp, oysters and fish. These coastal swamps are the largest neighboring wetland system in the lower 48 states and any contamination of this area by crude oil and harmful chemical dispersants will have a devastating effect on the local economy of Louisiana. Huge financial problems as a result of this oil spill will need to be solved and large sums of money will be needed. Again this have resulted to oil spill attorneys campaigning for lawsuits against the responsible party.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has already closed the national waters from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Florida panhandle to all profit-making and recreational fishing while it scrutinizes the oil spill’s effect on the aquatic environment. Local fishermen dread that even if the ecology that supports fish stocks does not collapse, the fish and shellfish that are left in the area may be classified as being unhealthy for human consumption. The governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, has already asked the federal government for a pronouncement of “commercial fisheries failure”, asking for financial help for the area’s marketable and recreational fishing businesses. To facilitate the legal actions against the responsible parties, groups of oil spill lawyers have been campaigning for people to come out and participate in class action suits or oil spill claims. These oil spill claims will at least be helpful for those that have been affected in recuperating from their losses.