WINTER PARK, Fla. — People will be paying more for their favorite seafood because of the oil disaster, WFTV learned Wednesday. The Louisiana Gulf Coast area, which is the hardest hit by the spill so far, supplies 25 percent of the nation's domestic commercial seafood and 50 percent of Florida's shrimp.
VIDEO REPORT: Spill Means Higher Seafood Prices
Wholesale prices are way up, especially for shrimp and oysters.
Seafood markets, like Lombardi's in Winter Park, are trying to retain their retail' prices at pre-oil spill levels. That could get tougher to do as time goes on.
Denise Lombardi-Smith is a third generation seller of seafood. It all started with her grandfather Tony Sr. in the late 1950s.
"He used to work in Tampa for a seafood company and one of his routes was to drive to Orlando and deliver fish," Lombardi-Smith said.
But after nearly 50 years in business in Winter Park, the family now faces its greatest challenge.
"When we found out about the oil, we kind of just looked at each other and said, 'What are we gonna do?'" she said.
Denise said wholesale prices of jumbo shrimp have jumped more than $2 dollars a pound. The Lombardi's are struggling to hold the line on their retail prices and keep up the supply for more than 20 local restaurants.
The crisis has had no affect on the mega-restaurant chain Red Lobster. A spokesman for its Orlando-based parent company, Darden, said they buy seafood from all over the world, including the Gulf, and the spill has had no impact.
At Lombardi's, loyal customers like Bob Gonzalez aren't worried about what they're getting.
"This is a trusted proprietor. I have trust in whatever they have in there to be fresh and free of any type of contaminates," Gonzalez said.
Denise Lombari-Smith hopes the crisis will end soon.
"Not only for our business, but for the local fishermen down in Louisiana and Florida, the animals that are involved. They've gotta stop it somehow," she said.
Denise said the huge shrimp processors have bought up most of the product. She believes three or four months down the road, those companies might run short and prices could skyrocket.