The National Marine Fisheries Service on Tuesday (Sept. 21) reopened 8,084 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico to fishing, although that opening is at the southern portion of the waters closed in response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill earlier this year.
Click here to see the map showing the current closures.
The waters have been reopened because no oil or sheen has been documented in the area since July 21, the agency reported.
This latest action leaves about 13 percent, or 31,801 square miles, of the Gulf closed to all fishing. However, anglers can run through the closed area to reach open water.
Tests of 185 tissue samples of tuna, swordfish and mahi mahi revealed “no detectable oil or dispersant odors or flavors in the samples, and the results of chemical analysis were well below levels of concern for oil,” NMFS reported.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its statement that it will “continue to evaluate the need for fisheries closures based on the evolving nature of the spill response and will re-open closed areas as appropriate.”
Specific longitude/latitudes for the remaining closures can be found here.
