Earth Eats: Real Food, Green Living

Gulf Oil Spill Causes Sharp Spike In Oyster Prices

Got a hankering for oysters? Then you should expect to shell out more for them soon.

Raw oysters

Photo: swamibu (flickr)

Ten of Louisiana's 28 oyster-harvesting areas are closed.

Got a hankering for oysters? Then you should expect to shell out more for them soon.

American shellfish and crustacean supplies are being hit hardest by the Gulf oil spill. While other forms of seafood is largely imported  – a whopping 83% of it, as reported by the L.A. Times – nearly three-quarters of all oysters consumed domestically are harvested from the Gulf coast.

This has led to a sharp spike in shellfish and crustacean prices.

Read More: Gulf oyster, shrimp and crab supplies dwindle and prices rise (LA Times)

Megan Meyer

Megan Meyer was in the company of foodies for most of her formative years. She spent all of her teens working at her town's natural food co-op in South Dakota, and later when she moved to Minneapolis, worked as a produce maven for the nation's longest running collectively-managed food co-op. In 2006, she had the distinct pleasure (and pain) of participating the vendanges, or grape harvest, in the Beaujolais terroire of France, where she developed her compulsion to snip off grape clusters wherever they may hang. In the spring of 2008, Megan interned on NPR's Science Desk in Washington, D.C., where she aided in the coverage of science, health and food policy stories. She joined Indiana Public Media in June, 2009.

View all posts by this author »

About Earth Eats

Search Earth Eats

Earth Eats on Twitter

Earth Eats on Flickr