Fishermen and tourist operators fearing loss of livelihood from Gulf spill

No one is certain when of if the crude oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico from the Transocean Deepwater Horizon disaster will reach land. Experts say it could be as soon as late in the week or possibly never depending upon weather and currents.

Gulf Coast residents are understandably worried.

"This is the worst possible thing that could happen to the Mississippi Gulf Coast," said Louis Skrmetta. He runs Ship Island Excursions which takes tourists to the barrier islands of the Gulf Islands National Seashore 10 miles south of Gulfport, Mississippi.

"It will wipe out the oyster industry. Shrimping wouldn't recover for years. It would kill family tourism, that's our livelihood," he said. His family has run the business since 1926.

The oil slick covers an area of 48 miles by 80 miles and is moving north and spreading east. Some experts believe it could wash up as far east as the white beaches of Pensacola, Florida.

11 workers are presumed dead and 115 persons were evacuated from the Deepwater Horizon explosion last week. The rig sank two days later.

Source: Associated Press