BATON ROUGE, La. — Fish from Lake Pontchartrain, the source of much of New Orleans' famous seafood, is safe to eat again after Hurricane Katrina, but lay off the oysters, state environmental experts said.
They said shrimp, crab and fish could be consumed if they were thoroughly cooked, but oyster beds were closed and could stay that way for months.
Full recovery of the beds could take up to two years, said Harry Blanchet of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Fetid floodwaters that filled 80% of New Orleans after Katrina struck on Aug. 29 were pumped into Lake Pontchartrain, but they turned out to be less polluted than had been feared.
