The Gulf coast region of Alabama attracted 2.5 million tourists last year, who spent over $3 billion while they were there. Alabama’s beaches are a major attraction and local tourism is expected to suffer greatly if the oil slick makes landfall in the area. The area also boasts a large charter fishing and commercial fishing fleet who have been hit hard by mass cancellations and closed fishing grounds. Shrimping vessels that would normally be out working stand idle in Bayou La Batre, the “Seafood Capitol of Alabama.” Hotels, bed and breakfasts and vacation rental businesses have all suffered mass cancellations by visitors due to arrive in the coming weeks, meaning that local businesses have already been badly affected by the oil spill before it has even made landfall. Upon landfall the effects on local businesses will only get worse as the white sand beaches turn black and the odor of chemicals and crude oil pervade the air.

As of Friday May 13th 2010 the main oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is still 50-60 miles away from Alabama, but throughout the week more and more tarballs are being washed up on beaches between Lagoon Pass in Gulf Shores to Orange Beach and further west to Fort Morgan. These have been mostly cleared by cleanup crews but small patches of oil are also starting to appear in the white sand along the shoreline.

Oil absorbing booms and other preventative measures are being employed to protect the Alabama’s beaches, bays and inlets, although these are of limited use in bad weather. The use of chemical dispersants to treat the oil slick offshore may help to limit the quantity of oil making landfall in Alabama, although the trade-off is that these dispersants cause much more damage to marine life offshore which will cause more damage to the fishing and seafood industries later on.. Also, this toxic mixture of oil and dispersants that does make landfall is more harmful, potentially causing more health and environmental problems than would be caused by crude oil alone.

If your business has been affected by the oil spill, contact an experienced Alabama oil spill lawyer who can help you seek the compensation you need.