This is yesterday's update from my corporate headquarters(Sysco)
Sunday, NOAA shut down fishing in federal waters in portion of Gulf from Louisiana to Florida Pan Handle for the next 10 days. There was no hazards, this was done as a precautionary basis.
All seafood from Louisiana that is in the pipeline is 100% safe. Customers are buying up seafood at 4 times the normal rate, fearful that there supply will be cut off. This should not be done, all it is doing is driving up cost for not only Louisiana Shrimp but for the global market also. There are reports that the market is moving up .25 cents a pound already.
Oysters: Already in short supply, expect at least 30% less oysters hitting the market. The West side of the Mississippi river produces 73% of the oysters consumed and we feel that this will not be impacted. Many fisherman are leasing their boats to BP which also will cause shortages.
Shrimp: In reality, the shrimp will move as the oil approaches which should not hurt this year's catch. Once again, the problems are on the east side of the Mississippi river, the largest amount is harvested on the west side and the Texas season is upon us.
NOTE: Shrimp supplies were already strained before the spill, so a lot of the increases were already happening. Sysco Portico will not be affected on committed volume, new business has potential to be shorted. If everyone doesn't over react, we should be okay. Only suggestion would be to find alternative sources of oysters and be flexible on shrimp species and sizes.
We are in close contact with the State of Louisiana and its task force. Additional information will be posted on Blue Cube/Seafood Fish Tails as warranted.
FACT: Small whites from Asia have already been rising 10%, this additional increase with hit in about 4 weeks in addition to other increases.
To avoid short term shortages, I would suggest increasing your orders by 2-4 weeks inventory.
I just don't like cleaning them though.. :roll: 
