Too Much Oil with Your Seafood?

The Ultimate Recipe for Disaster



The waters along the Gulf of Mexico coast produce millions of tons of food annually for American consumers. The gulf is truly blessed with an abundant supply of quality seafood.



That is, until now.



The sweet-tasting wild white gulf shrimp, for example, is a culinary delight here in the states and throughout the world. But, it is now threatened for years to come by the recent British Petroleum oil spill.



Blue point crabs are also unfortunate victims of this ecological disaster, and so are the oysters, red fish, trout ? the list goes on ? not to mention its devastating affect on the delicate ecosystem of grasses and plant plankton which supports life for the smaller fish and other living aquatic life upon which they feed.



On land, the oil spill has already jeopardized the lively hood of several hundred thousands of people who are dependent on the gulf waters for their living, and the millions of us who are dependent on them for a continuous supply of fresh seafood.



What a tragedy!



What Can the Administration Do About It?



First, it can put pressure on the British under whose sovereign soil the British Petroleum Company was first incorporated.



England should be held ultimately responsible for this disaster because she collects taxes from the British Petroleum Corporation and other supporting industries. So, by default, she also should take on the responsibility and burden of the clean-up now!



The second thing is to put even more pressure on the British Petroleum Company and its partners in the offshore venture and compel them to open their treasuries wide and offer ALL the available resources to help clean up this mess. There is no time for long court battles to determine who is most at fault.



Thirdly, the U.S. Congress should, through a special emergency session, create a fair compensation plan which can be distributed to everyone who is directly affected by this tragedy, beginning with the fishing industry and all that directly support it and derive an income from it.



This is NOT a time to play politics. Politics won't fix this disaster. Only people can.  It is time for decisive action. Now!



If this administration will not act swiftly and effectively then it will be up to the populous to clean-up the mess. It will also mean that we cannot rely on our own government to do the job. They will be fired come election time.



At the very least, the United States should begin immediate measures to compensate those who are directly affected. No waiting! These poor folks need money NOW!



These are merely my views ... for all they are worth.  J. R.  Gaspard.