Thirty-two U.S. Congressmen urges President Obama to create Seafood Advisory Group

On March 3, 2011, thirty-two members of congress both Republicans and Democrats from Gulf States affected by the BP oil spill co-authored a letter to President Barrack Obama encouraging the administration to reinvigorate its communication with the American public regarding the safety of seafood from the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite reports from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and various state and local agencies that Gulf seafood is safe to eat, the public continue to avoid Gulf harvested seafood due to unfounded safety concerns related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The congressional representatives reasoned that until the public has a better understanding of the federal government’s seafood safety work in the Gulf, consumer confidence would remain low, thereby causing the public to avoid healthful seafood, and keeping the Gulf Coast economy struggling to rebuild.

Following the oil spill last April, the federal government established an unprecedented level of surveillance and monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico to determine the wholesomeness of its seafood.

Despite Gulf seafood being the most scrutinized in the world, restaurateurs, fishers, and retailers report that customers remain concerned with the effects of oil residue and dispersants on seafood landed from the Gulf.

This lack of public confidence results not from a shortage of government data, but from ineffectiveness in reporting this complex information to the public.

The authors of the letter, which included Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Congressman Steve Southerland (R-FL), asked the administration to create a Seafood Advisory Group to help disseminate information to the public about the safety and availability of Gulf Seafood.