Sea Lab Directory Says Local Seafood Is Safe

Mobile, AL - Area residents and visitors to Mobile Bay, Alabama have always been treated to some of the finest Gulf Seafood there is. Nowadays, it seems that a well publicized public misperception of that seafood is endangering the livelihoods of hard-working fishermen, seafood processors, restaurateurs, cooks and servers. The one fact that folks can believe in is that the seafood being served in area restaurants and on shelves in stores is as safe and delicious as it ever was.

The Alabama Department of Public Health says “Any fish available for commercial sale, for example, fish in grocery stores, comes from non-contaminated waters. Contaminated fish and seafood will not be allowed on the market by regulatory agencies.”

The Food and Drug Administration says “There is no reason to believe that any contaminated product has made its way to the market…The FDA oversees a mandatory safety program for all fish and fishery products under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, The Public Health Service Act, and related regulations.”

Dr. George Crozier, Executive Director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab says, “Bioaccumulation takes months and years to reach unhealthy levels, so Gulf Seafood is quite safe to eat for some time. The public can be assured that there is extensive testing to ensure seafood safety and there will be an abundance of caution.”

“We want to get the word out that seafood is safe to eat and that this perpetuated misconception is hurting neighbors and regular folks that are Alabama’s seafood industry,” says Bob Omainsky, President of the Mobile Chapter of the Alabama Restaurant Association. “We are more closely monitored and inspected than we ever have been in the past, and are fully confident that our product is safe – not to mention delicious. When I hear folks say that Gulf Seafood isn’t safe to eat, it just tears my heart out. I don’t know where everyone’s getting this incorrect information.”