Assessing the After-Effects of the BP Oil Spill (Updated)

Seventh-generation oysterman Mike Voison knows catastrophe. As chief executive officer of Motivatit Seafoods, a major seafood supplier and processor in Houma, Louisiana, he has weathered every storm for the past four decades while harvesting and processing shrimp and oysters from the Gulf of Mexico. The BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, however, is unlike anything he’s ever experienced. On April 20, the Transocean drilling rig leased by BP exploded and sank, sending oil gushing into the Gulf from a well 5,000 feet below the surface. On July 15, after 86 days, the oil was finally stopped. But the after-effects are expected to linger for years, if not decades. Voison talked with Bloomberg.com contributor Keith Girard about the nation’s costliest manmade disaster and how it continues to affect his $10 million, 110-employee company, his industry, and the Gulf region.

Keith Girard: You’ve been through both Katrina and the Gulf oil spill. How do they compare in terms of devastation and the challenges they’ve created for you and your business?