The environmental effects of the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill are sure to be widespread. Environmental agencies and interest groups are already mobilizing to try to contain the oil in the best possible way.

At best, they will be able to keep the oil off the coast and contained in the gulf. However, the spread is much more likely to continue. And in the worst case, it will begin to spread up the east coast.

Despite the broad implications that are unavoidable, the area hardest hit will be Louisiana. Many of Louisiana’s larger industries are already feeling the damage from this spill (at the time of this writing a month ago), and it will only get worse as time goes on.

This article will explore which industries are most at risk.

Industries at risk

Shrimp: Shrimp has been a mainstay of Louisiana since before the 19th century. They have a long and deeply rooted tradition. Unfortunately, one of the first industries to panic was the shrimp industry. They realized the fragility of the ecosystem that surrounds their commercial cultivation and understood that oil would be devastating. This fact was so widely recognized that the state declared an emergency shrimp fishing season a few days after the spill, knowing that all shrimp farmers would need to collect something to sustain themselves for months and maybe even years.

Oyster growers: Approximately 4,800 jobs in Louisiana are based on oyster farming, and now all are in danger. Like shrimp fishing, oyster farming is done primarily through mariculture, which means farming through the sea.

Other fishing companies: With the ocean so abundant and so close, Los Angeles has come to rely heavily on all the fishing industries. This includes other lesser known companies.

Louisiana Tourism Industries: The tourism industry is a vast network of travel agencies, reservation networks, hotels, tour guides and more. Every piece of that elaborate chain will begin to suffer as more and more people avoid the oil-laden waters off the coast of Louisiana. This will even affect nearby cities if the vapors begin to leak past the coasts.

Beachfront Properties and Real Estate: Not only is the property value of real estate on the Los Angeles coast in trouble in the short term, the entire real estate industry will have to change and evolve depending on how long the cleanup takes and how deeply ingrained the environmental effects of the leak.

Ship operators: There are many reasons to own and operate a boat in Louisiana, whether it’s for hiking, guiding, fishing, or recreation. All of those owners will need to carefully monitor the damage their boats take and narrow down where and when they can actually go out on the water.

Oil industry workers: It may be easy to think of oil industry workers as “the enemy” right now, but they are simply people honestly trying to make a living. The severe reaction to this incident will likely jeopardize many of Los Angeles’ oil initiatives and potentially reduce available jobs.

Restorers: Many restaurants in Louisiana are based on seafood. They have long relied on nearby fish resources to keep their broth fresh and delicious. Not only the restaurant owners are going to suffer from the lack of stock and the increase in import prices, but also all the people who work in those restaurants and the people who work in the fish “pipeline” that maintains the supply. meeting the demand.

Transcendence

As you can imagine, the industries described here are not an exhaustive list of all the people who will be affected. Only time will reveal how many individuals and industries will have to drastically change to survive (and how many will not survive at all).