A prolonged cutback in the Gulf seafood supply will translate to shortages of oysters

Even if local seafood lovers don't see as much as a tar ball on their favorite Texas beaches this summer, they can expect to be hit in the wallet when they order their favorite shrimp, oyster or crab dishes.

The oil spill continuing to spread off the Louisiana coast is threatening supplies of all types of seafood and prices, inevitably, will rise.

"We're lucky, we're on the clean side of the spill for now," said Randy Evans, the chef of the hip green restaurant Haven. "But everyone's costs are going to go up. It may be a heavy meat-and-potato summer."

On Friday, government officials extended a ban on fishing in the waters affected by the spill until May 17. The closed area — 4.5 percent of Gulf federal waters — is a jagged, six-sided blob that stretches from Louisiana east to the coast of Florida. Under normal circumstances, the eastern half of the Gulf is so abundant that it is estimated to account for up to 40 percent of all domestic seafood harvested in the continental United States.

Jim Gossen, president and CEO of Houston-based Louisiana Foods, says a prolonged cutback in that supply will translate to shortages of Gulf oysters, brown and white shrimp and crabs.

"There's already an extreme shortage of oysters," said Gossen, who has been in the seafood business for 40 years. "The diminishing supply of product is causing something of a frenzy. For restaurants, Mother's Day is one of the busiest days of the year, and I've had calls every day from people trying to stock up for the holiday."

The Louisiana native says he's not taking on any new customers.

"I want to take care of my regulars as best as I can," he said.

Gossen worries that restaurants will start taking favorite Gulf seafood dishes off their menus, and diners will begin to avoid regional delicacies.

"The Gulf of Mexico is a vast body of water," he said. "I hope people don't think that the entire Gulf is tainted."

Jinxed might seem a more apt word.

On Wednesday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Coastal Fisheries Division announced that the commercial shrimp season here will close May 15 and won't reopen until some point in July. The problem, state officials said, is that the shrimp are unseasonably small and need more time to grow.

With that double whammy, Gossen worries about the fishermen he's known for decades.

"They're very resilient people, and it takes a lot to knock them down," he said. "But I can tell by their voices that they're very concerned. They're not people who can go sell off some stocks when times get tough."

Local restaurateurs share those concerns.

At Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse, chef Carlos Rodriguez was in the process of revamping the menu with a heavier emphasis on Gulf seafood when the underwater well began gushing oil.

In a dark moment he used his Twitter account to joke about a new dish — Gulf snapper with a sauce of wine, butter and motor oil.

Sounding more resigned during a phone interview, Rodriguez said his plans to lighten and freshen the menu are in limbo.

"That's the most frustrating thing," he said.

Bryan Caswell, the chef-owner of Reef, used different words to express similar emotions.

"It's wait and see — the big unknown," Caswell said. "We're all just scared because we don't know what the hell is going to happen."

Levi Goode, general manager and owner of Goode Co. Restaurants, spoke for many chefs and other owners when he said he has two missions in the coming months: to make sure the seafood he serves is top quality and to support the fishermen who have helped make him successful for so many years.

"I will not be buying shrimp from other parts of the world," Goode said. "The fishing industry up and down the coast is fragile, to say the least. I plan to support these guys through thick and thin."