The Gulf of Maine is characterized by its unseen elements: the intricate mix of freshwater, tidal currents, cold water and sunlight creates life where we can't see it. One sees only the evidence of this alchemy on one's plate or at a local fish market. Imagine a time when yellowtail flounder, hake or pollock suddenly vanished.
In the Gulf of Mexico right now, creatures that I have never heard of are dying due to the effects of the BP oil spill. With them go a multitude of fishermen, bait dealers, boat repair yards, processing plants and small restaurants. In 2008, the last year for which the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has records, $362,865,000 of seafood was landed in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Each dollar metamorphosed into several other dollars that were generated by the ancillary businesses related to commercial fishing.
And what did these fishermen catch? In Alabama, fishermen landed bearded brotula, gag, scamp and ladyfish. In Louisiana they brought in buffalo fish, escolar and goldface tilefish. Mississippi fishermen landed spotted sea trout and liza mullet. I enjoy learning these names. These aren't the the cold-water cod, haddock and flounder with which I grew up, yet to Gulf Coast fishermen they must be equally familiar, symbols of southern water.
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