Three weeks into the six-month fishing season, the Gulf of Mexico oil slick has made a "just dreadful" impact on the industry, said Daybrook Fisheries president Gregory Holt. He described his business as the region's "economic generator" as far as fisheries are concerned.

"My heart goes out to these people," he told AFP, referring to his hundreds of employees in southern Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish.

The Empire, Louisiana plant can process some 100 tons (91 tonnes) of Menhaden fish every hour, in a global export business that produces fish oil and fish meal sent around the world, from China to Norway.

"We've lost 50 percent of our fishing grounds, and it means we're around 50 percent down in our normal catch," Holt said.

He noted the "extensive" costs of operating in areas still open for fishing, with 20-hour roundtrips now the norm for fishing boats heading west from the mouth of the Mississippi River into the gulf.

Locals are now dreading the growing oil slick could extend to areas west of the river as well, placing an even greater strain on the state's vital marine-based economy.

Last week, Louisiana state officials banned fishing in large expanses of coastal waters for at least 10 days amid fears oil could contaminate the catch.

While a small area has been reopened, the growing slick -- a "nightmare," in Holt's words -- looks set to disrupt business for some time to come.

An estimated 210,000 gallons of crude are spewing each day from a leaking mile-deep (1,500 meters) pipe in the Gulf of Mexico, ruptured by an April 20 explosion that rocked a BP-leased rig before it caught fire and sank, claiming the lives of 11 workers.

The giant slick created by three weeks of unabated gushing has sorely disrupted Louisiana's commercial and recreational fishing industry that usually rakes in 2.4 billion dollars a year, impacting fishing communities and related businesses like Daybrook.

Holt praised state officials' "great job" in dealing with the disaster, contrasting the efforts with the "abandonment" the region experienced after Hurricane Katrina tore through the area in 2005.

Critics lambasted former president George W. Bush's administration for its response to the catastrophic storm, which left New Orleans all but completely underwater and utterly destroyed the Daybrook facility.

"We rebuilt it, steadily, and this year was the first year we were right back on track again. Then this happened," Holt said.

Asked about possible price hikes due to the declining production, he said the market was steady for now.

"There's every effort to contain this thing... In the meantime, we're taking it one day at a time, and just trying to keep our spirits up that we'll get through this."

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