
As of this morning, May 23th, the closest reported oil is in the Loop Current and being carried further west. There is almost no chance that this oil will come ashore here in Lee County and Southwest Florida. A new estimate of the spill from NOAA now has it covering slightly more than 2000 square miles rather than the previously reported 3400 square miles. The Panhandle is not totally out of the woods yet but that is some very good news. There has been absolutely no closure of any beaches or fishing here in Southwest Florida.
This spill is a serious ecological and economic problem for Louisiana and its coastal fishery and I'm not trying to downplay it with this post. However, the media loves a good disaster and they're doing their best to scare everyone. I'm getting a lot of calls and e-mails from anglers concerned about the potential impact of this spill in our area here around Pine Island. My friends down in the Keys are experiencing the same thing. There is no reason for anyone coming to this part Florida to be concerned right now and the worst thing that could happen to us, especially after our horrible winter, is for people to start cancelling their vacations. I'll keep updating this post whenever I find accurate information on the spill and it's possible impact on any part of Florida so please forward it along to anyone interested in a direct report from Lee County.