Gulf beaches keeping the oil at bay

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil well incident in the Gulf of Mexico has undoubtedly been among the worst-ever environmental incidents in history but, remarkably, the impact so far on the Gulf of Mexico states’ beaches has been minimal. It is fishing – recreational and commercial – that has borne the brunt of the oil spill although in Louisiana, for example, some fishing areas have been allowed to re-open.

Six states border the Gulf – Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas – with the lion’s share of ex-UK tourism of course heading for Florida.

Here, tar balls do continue to be found on the beaches of Northwest Florida but this area is well off the beaten track for most UK holidaymakers and there have been no reports of any contamination in the rest of the state. A tiny portion of coastal state waters have been closed for fishing but, at the time of writing (June 21), all other state waters remain open to recreational fishing.

Throughout Florida there are no beach closures and the majority of the state’s waters remain open to recreational fishing. Florida's 825 miles of beaches, 1,260 miles of coastline and 14 seaports, including cruise ships, remain open for business.

And putting a positive spin on proceedings, the Delano hotel, oceanfront in Miami Beach, is offering room discounts to oil spill volunteers!

For the southern Gulf States, beaches are a very minor factor in UK visitors’ plans so the impact of the oil is negligible.

In Alabama, swimming off some beaches is not now recommended although the beaches remain open for beach activities where five machines are cleaning beaches daily.

Mississippi benefits from a shelf just outside coastal waters, which means that virtually no oil has reached the state’s shoreline.

Much of Louisiana’s Gulf Coast is unaffected by the oil spill and remains open for commercial and recreational fishing. Few affected areas are near inhabited areas with New Orleans, for example, some 100 miles inland from affected areas.

At the moment, there has been no impact to Texas’ 624 miles of coastline with beaches unaffected, and open for business.

So in spite of the blanket coverage of this disaster, the impact on holidaymaker’s plans is negligible allowing agents to book with confidence.