NOAA reopens 5,130 square miles of Gulf to commercial and recreational fishing

Posted: Friday, September 03, 2010 NOAA reopens 5, 130 square miles of Gulf to commercial and recreational fishing SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Assciated Press] - September 3, 2010 - MIAMI, Federal authorities have lifted a fishing ban in part of the northern Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Panhandle to the far eastern coast of Louisiana. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said Thursday about 5,130 square miles of federal waters from Pensacola west through Alabama and Mississippi are open to fishing and shrimp harvesting. NOAA also said shrimping could resume in federal waters east of Pensacola, which reopened to other fishing last month. The area is considered low-risk for future exposure to oil. Seafood collected there has not shown any signs of contamination. Roughly 43,000 square miles of federal waters remain closed, an area mostly off Louisiana and stretching into the open Gulf. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Ken Coons Seafood.com 1-781-861-1441 kencoons@seafood.com