Cost of oil leak spills into Valley

Shellfish prices already jumping up

Tjesimir Glamuzina volunteered his oyster boat in Empire, La., to help with the oil spill recovery effort on Sunday, May 9. Glamuzina, a Croatian immigrant, is one of many fishermen to offer help in the cleanup effort. Associated Press photo by Patrick Semansky

Patrick Semansky/FRE Tjesimir Glamuzina volunteered his oyster boat in Empire, La., to help with the oil spill recovery effort on Sunday, May 9. Glamuzina, a Croatian immigrant, is one of many fishermen to offer help in the cleanup effort. Associated Press photo by Patrick Semansky

ENLARGE PHOTO

With condominium towers and beach homes in the background, workers handle oil-blocking booms in a parking lot in Orange Beach, Ala., Sunday, May 9, 2010.

Jay Reeves/STF With condominium towers and beach homes in the background, workers handle oil-blocking booms in a parking lot in Orange Beach, Ala., Sunday, May 9, 2010.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Photos: Oil spill in Gulf of Mexico

Dayton Mall shoe store moving
Updated 15 min. ago
Obama defense budget leaves Wright-Patterson relatively unscathed
12:44 p.m.
Tea Party’s impact may be strongest for general election
11:11 a.m.
Victim of human trafficking speaks to students
11:00 a.m.
‘App economy’ job prospects booming
10:05 a.m.
> More headlines

By Mark Fisher and Steve Bennish
Staff Writers Updated 9:30 AM Monday, May 10, 2010

DAYTON — Dayton-area restaurants, grocers and seafood purveyors are bracing for price increases on shellfish as a result of the Gulf oil spill.

Louisiana is a leading provider of oysters, shrimp, crab and crawfish in the U.S., and the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board says about 23 percent of the state’s shellfish production was in the path of the potential landfall of the oil spill.

The price of oysters already has jumped by $10 a gallon to $90, according to Tom Patterson, owner of Foremost Seafood, which distributes seafood to restaurants and grocers and operates a retail shop in Kettering. “I think crabs might be next,” Patterson said, noting that the Gulf of Mexico is an important producer of soft-shell crab.

While there are multiple alternative sources for the fish and shellfish harvested in Gulf waters, the increased demand for seafood from other countries or other parts of the U.S. may push prices higher, Patterson said.

He’s particularly concerned about the long-term impact if oil contaminates marshes and estuaries where several species of shellfish and fish are at a delicate, early stage of development this time of year.

If oil destroys oyster beds and shrimp fields, the price of shellfish and other seafood will shoot higher and could stay high for a long time, said Wright State University economics professor Robert Premus.

“I would expect to see a rise in seafood prices and products,” Premus said. “You can’t pin it down yet. We don’t know the magnitude of the environmental damage.”

Share this article