That newspaper headline literally leapt off the page causing ripples in my morning cup of coffee. It seems that some fisherpersons are bemoaning the fact that they can't earn a living because of the oil disaster. How interesting; how very, very interesting!
While in the Florida Panhandle recently I heard from several restaurant owners that they, too, are hurting because they can't replenish their inventory of fresh fish and oysters. This deficit in seafood is causing price increases in restaurants and seafood markets, and in at least one case an owner was pondering what he could offer his customers when the oysters run out.
So sad, you might say. I would certainly agree as far as the restaurants and markets are concerned, but the fishermen and oystermen? Not so much. And, why you might ask. Go ahead and ask.
Well, it seems that many of those who made a living harvesting various types of seafood are now making a hell of a lot more working for BP on the cleanup effort or they got a hefty BP pay-off and they don't appear to be in any hurry to get back to fishing. Go figure!
As of today, the oil has not reached Apalachicola, so the oyster beds are alive and kicking but very few are being harvested. That means the oyster houses are beginning to hurt. They don't have the product to process and consequently the delivery people have nothing to deliver.
I am starting to think that if seafood prices keep going up or I can't even buy seafood that maybe I should file suit against BP for the harm they are causing me. Hell, I might as well get in on the action. A bar patron on St. George Island was saying the other day that a oil sodden seagull plopped in his swimming pool and crapped it up so badly that he will have to sue BP for a major pool re-do. I think he was just talking from an alcoholic haze, but who knows?
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