Oil streaks in the northern edges of Barataria Bay, inundating the inside waters north of Grand Isle, Louisiana, as oil continues to spew from the Deepwater Horizon spill into the Gulf of Mexico, Wednesday, June 2, 2010. PHOTO BY TED JACKSON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

By Press-Register
June 03, 2010, 3:57PM U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has declared a fishery disaster in the Gulf of Mexico due to the economic impact on commercial and recreational fisheries from the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Locke has added Florida to the earlier determination area announced May 24 for the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. “All four of these Gulf Coast states have the potential to suffer significant economic hardship as a result of the BP oil spill,” Locke said in a news release Wednesday. “Today’s disaster determination will help ensure that the Federal government is in a position to mobilize the full range of assistance that Florida fishermen and fishing communities may need.” The declaration, which requires congressional and presidential approval, would authorize emergency unemployment pay for commercial and charter fishermen. The declaration was made in response to requests from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson based on the loss of access to many commercial fisheries and the existing and anticipated environmental damage. Since May 2, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has closed portions of federal waters affected by the spill to commercial and recreational fishing. This closure area, now includes 36.6 percent of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, largely between Louisiana at the mouth of the Mississippi and the waters off Florida’s Pensacola Bay.  The southern boundary of this closure runs southward to Cuban waters. …

Fishing industry disaster declared for Florida as oil spill nears (with latest spill map)