we believe that this is critical to the gulf and their survival in the gulf. the state of louisiana has requested $407 million for a 20-year test program. we will continue to monitor the health. more importantly, one of our great challenges is the brand of the gulf of mexico, the brand of the gulf seafood. we have seven generations of family that have plied the waters in louisiana. people need to understand. there are no questions about what is in the market. there might be questions about fishing areas that are closed. we should ask those questions. this is wholesome and safe, this

is a tremendously conservative science. we need to convince people about this. people instead of ordering oysters on the half shell, they are having chicken or stake. we need to overcome that. 100 + days of oil gushing and the right hand corner of the television screen has branded us as something other than what we are. we will meet that challenge. this is a very small part of the whole gulf of mexico. we need to look at the whole. this is 200 gallons of oil that has escaped from the situation. we need to have the microbes that will eat oil. that was not the case in relationship to the valdez

incident where they don't have the warm water. >> would you like to see more testing in the areas that have the heaviest concentrations of oil right now? would you like to see that implemented now said that we will have that information in the long term going forward? >> i believe that that is happening. more is better. >> we heard on the opening panel that there was no intensive program to do that. would you like to see that? >> i would support that. i have been on conference calls with a have reported they are doing testing in closed areas. i've been on conference calls with the fda as well. that is what they have indicated, the testing of the seafood products in those areas. they have done oil plume testing

and they have indicated that they are continuing to do that. >> you want them right now to be testing the fish inside of the area? >> i believe that they are. >> you believe it is important for them to test the fish inside of the most loyal to areas? >> absolutely. >> that helps. >> we ask each one of you to give us

nrdc is concerned with the analysis coming out of the government, that there is a desire to rush to judgment, to turn the corner, and accelerate the analysis of the impact the oil has had on the echoes system -- ecosystem. it is of great concern. according to the oil pollution act, our government is required to fully and fairly assess the impact of the oil spill. we hope that they take the time and do the necessary, comprehensive study is required. dies on this. >> the gulf of mexico state's,

louisiana is what i have been living in, they have been challenged by five major events. this spill is the most significant and recent. we will not be broken as a result of this. the seafood community is viable. my family left france under orders in 1770, went to canada and was kicked out of canada. so far, we have not been kicked out of louisiana. we will be resilient. people are not really interested necessarily in the rough seas that you have but whether or not you bring the ship been, i hope that the federal government continues its efforts and doubles them if appropriate and needed to bring that shipped in to have safe seafood and a clean and healthy gulf coast.

the gulf is a viable place to lift. seafood is wholesome and safe and harvested from the gulf of mexico and we want americans to know that. >> >> we are testing our correction and this has been depleted, we want to see what is happening to our fisheries. last season, it opened, this was available and it will happen. that is one of the things we would like to see. >> thank you. >> i have had a product that was always known as the best because this was the best. i would just like the perception

of the american public to know this is the best again. in our business, we don't work 925, we work 5 to 9. i pretty much what my life back. they took everything that i work for all of these years and one company doesn't know what they're doing or they cut too many corners and they put me out of business. this just ruins my whole life and no one is being held responsible but me and i did not do anything wrong. i am so confused. i go to work, like i always do. until you have lived through

what we have been living through, i know what will happen. every night i go to sleep, i cannot sleep. i know how many squares i have and the ceiling. i hope that the government makes bp clean everything up and everything returns by to normal and the american public has confidence that the seafood that we will buy, we will not sell or anything. the last thing we want to do is get anyone sick. we will do the best we can to make sure everything is alright. >> to you and mr. cooper, we thank you for coming here. >> thank you. we know that you are individuals who have a tremendous amount at stake care. it is at any point tomorrow,

next week, next month, you can just dial our number here on the committee to help you personally with your own family situations as you are going forward we will give you the number to calls soon as this hearing is done so that you know someone will be behind you. >> bp will have to pay a fine and my concern is that fine to be dedicated to restoring the gulf of mexico. not disappear into a treasury somewhere. i hope that the houses of congress can work together and the parties can work together to guarantee that the money that is paid here goes into permanent

restoration projects such as restoring marshes, better enforcement of coastal runoff, those are all things that have to happen to make our goal for whole again. that is what we all want. in order to do that, if you will have massive support from the people from the gulf of mexico. >> i would like at the house of representatives just three weeks ago and did adopt one appeal and recommendations to the oil spill response bill that we passed on the house floor to create a new trust fund for oceans so the funds raised from trillions in our ocean will go towards protecting and improving our oceans. the senate has said that they will take up the legislation

when they return in september, that is always problematic. we did in the house of representatives take the recommendation and implement them and hopefully the same will be true in the senate so that they can go to president obama is best. what we have learned today is that the oil is not gone, the oil remaining in the gulf waters are washed up on the shore and this is equivalent to 10 exxon valdez size spills and could not be much more. most of the gulf has been reopened to fishing but to the industry is not in the clear. long-term impact on stocks remained unknown, one contaminated catch makes it to to market and makes people sick and then the reputation and credibility of one of america's most important fisheries will be

in jeopardy. we must engage this issue with continued caution and vigilance is necessary. we have seen some premature celebration. the dispersed will is not the same as the oil which has disappeared. data, formulas, algorithms need to be made public so that independent scientists can verify the conclusions that are now shaping the debate on what to do now. we need to test fishing stock in the closed fishing areas now so that we understand what is going on now. that will help us in the future to protect the fishermen, to protect the consumers in our country.

we must spend the money now so that in the future, there are no questions that are examined and we insure that the compensation is given to those who needed as long as possible until we make everything as safe as possible. all of that in my opinion is going to mean something that this committee and the american people need to be vigilant to make sure this is in place so that people in the gulf of mexico at the end of day are made completely whole. bp will try to walk away as fast as they can. they low balled the bill and the first week and they said it was $1,000. then they said it was 5,000 barrels. they knew in the first week that it was a huge spill. it turns out, between 53,000 and

63,000 barrels per day. that is not 1,000 barrels. that has changed the level of response and those first weeks, in those first months because of the misleading information. people were less vigilant than they would have been and the response was less intense than it would have been if we understood the magnitude. we must continue that level of vigilance, we must assume that we need to use all of our resources to understand what is going on right now so that there can be proper protections which are put in place and that proper compensation is given to all of those whose lives have been adversely affected by what has happened. well they might be spending tens of