Despite the fact that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has brought about a rise in prices for shrimp and oysters from those waters, the impact on seafood prices, by and large, is essentially a limited one the overall US seafood industry.

The key reason behind the limited impact of the oil spill on seafood prices in the US is the fact that out of the nearly 83 percent of the US imports of seafood, barely about 2 percent of the domestic supplies come from the Gulf.

According to Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute – the trade group representing the seafood industry -, since imports largely dominate the seafood market, there will likely be no dramatic change either in the pricing of the products for consumers and retailers nor their availability, unless they are looking for Gulf products in particular.

The seafood which will bear the maximum impact of the oil spill will ultimately be the oysters, because the oysters from the Gulf account for nearly 67 percent of the total oyster supply in the US.

Noting that New York’s Central Oyster Bar is paying 10 percent more for its shucked oysters, Executive Chef Sandy Ingber said: “We've only hit the tip of the iceberg with this disaster," said. "I foresee it getting worse before it gets better before they clean it up, but that can be a long time.”