Typically, Memorial Day weekend at Venice Marina in Venice, Louisiana, is one of the busiest weekends for businesses each year.
But, oil is continuing to pour into the Gulf of Mexico. The marina located at the tip of southern Louisiana, in what is known to fishermen as "Tuna Town, U.S.A." for its world-class tuna fishing, was quiet and servicing just a few boaters on Monday.
"Just since about last Wednesday, we probably lost 150 grand that we didn't take in, you know, fuel, ice, bait, pack down, additional beer sales.”
With offshore fishing off of Venice closed because of the oil spill, most boats remained docked in the slips of the marina. Many boats already have been moved by their owners to unrestricted waters.
Although Butler stressed that fishermen could still fish inshore in some areas, only a handful of fishermen came in and out of the marina.
Butler said, usually on Memorial Day, the marina would be full of boats, the restaurant would be full and the marina would set up beer stands and bands on the dock.
Now he says most of his business was serving oil workers, contractors and members of the media at the restaurant.
The spill has been flowing since April 20, when an explosion on the BP Deepwater Horizon rig sank the drilling platform and killed 11 workers. US government scientists estimate between 12,000-19,000 barrels of oil a day have been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico, creating a disaster about twice the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill.
