Gulfcast: Dispatches From The Gulf

Until recently, if you ate an oyster it most likely came from the Gulf of Mexico, which supplied more than 70% of all oysters harvested in the United States. But the Deepwater Horizon oil spill changed all that. The historically recession- and hurricane-proof oyster industry is harvesting and processing less than 25% of what it was before April 20, 2010. Their livelihoods gravely impacted, fishermen and shuckers struggle with poverty. Professor Sean Powers (University of South Alabama) explains why oyster populations have been slow to recover. NOTE: Science is continually evolving. To see the latest research updates on this topic, please visit the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) web site at gulfresearchinitiative.org.