Though BP may be not dragging their feet as slowly on getting out payments to businesses crippled by the huge oil slick that used to be the Gulf of Mexico, that money can only go so far toward keeping established businesses above water.

One particularly sad example is the P&J Oyster Company in New Orleans’ French Quarter, which has been able to stay open for 134 years but doesn’t look like it will survive two months of crude oil pumping up into the Gulf.

Says the owner of P&J, who has had to lay off his shuckers and resort to buying pre-shucked oysters from Alabama:

I don’t have any prospects to get any oysters — they closed one of the main areas where we get our oysters from… Barataria Basin is where P&J has made its name over the years, and that whole basin is now closed.

If P&J is unable to survive by selling the imported mollusks, it will have to close its doors indefinitely. It could be quite some time until the undersea oil gusher is capped and even longer before the currently closed oyster harvesting areas are deemed safe to reopen.

Oyster Shucking Ends at P&J Oyster On Rampart Street [WRNO]
Thanks to Amanda for the tip!

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.