LAFITTE, La. (AP) - Gloom infects the hard-working shrimp and crab docks of the gritty fishing town of Lafite, La., as the second full year of fishing since BP's catastrophic oil spill kicks into high gear.
This spring, catches are down, docks are idle and anxiety is growing that the ill effects of the massive BP oil spill may be far from over.
An Associated Press examination of catch data from last year's commercial harvest along the Gulf reveals merit in the fishermen's complaints. According to the analysis of figures obtained through public records requests, seafood crops hit rock bottom in the Barataria estuary, the same place where some of the thickest waves of oil washed in when a BP well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.
