WASHINGTON (CN) - Fishing in parts of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone (from 3 to 300 miles from the U.S. coast) has been closed for at least 10 days by the National Marine Fisheries Service, in response to the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that persistent winds from the South East will push the oil spill westward along the Louisiana coast. The agency says that the Mississippi Delta, Breton Sound and Chandeleur Sound continue to be threatened by oil. The westerly movement of the oil is expected to continue.
The spill began with an explosion at British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon oil rig, approximately 41 miles offshore from Louisiana. More than 1 million gallons of oil have spilled from the ruined rig, and the slick covers approximately 6,800 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico.
In an emergency closure announcement, the Fishery Service said that it will reevaluate conditions in the Gulf daily to determine if the area closed to fishing should be expanded or moved as the spill moves toward shore.
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