The damages to the Gulf of Mexico natural resources due to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill (GOMOS) is taking some time to be cleaned up and the restoration period to get the resources back to their original pre-GOMOS status is still indefinite. In the meantime, the production of goods and services by economic sectors located in the GOM states is affected leading to possible reduction in the levels of economic activity, employment and personal income, and tax revenues.
The closures of significant portions of federal and state GOM waters to commercial and recreational fishing and closures of beach resources to human uses due to GOMOS altered the recreation and consumption decisions of residents and tourists in affected communities. In order to understand the magnitude of the potential economic impacts of GOMOS to the different economic sectors affected, multi-year baseline economic information about each sector is compiled from various secondary sources.
In addition, a short survey of resident seafood and marine-related establishments licensed to operate in Mississippi was conducted to determine the impacts of the GOMOS on their business operations.