DELACROIX, LA - MAY 01: Mike Labat stacks crab traps on the back of the boat as they collect the traps after dumping the crabs back into the water because of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 1, 2010 in Delacroix, Louisiana. As oil-polluted waters approach the Louisiana coast, fishermen don't want to take chances selling possibly contaminated crabs so they are pulling their traps and dumping their catches. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.

VENICE, LA - MAY 01: A sign for crawfish and oysters to be sold at Schaefer & Rusich Seafood on May 1, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Many local residents are ordering extra seafood to freeze as commercial and recreational fishing east of the Mississippi River has been closed, as well as five zones of Oysters due to the expanding oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico.

This April 28, 2010 image made from video released by the Deepwater Horizon Response Unified Command, shows an in situ burn in the Gulf of Mexico, in response to the oil spill after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon.

DELACROIX, LA - MAY 01: Eric Melerine releases crabs back into the water after pulling the trap because of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 1, 2010 in Delacroix, Louisiana. As oil-polluted waters approach the Louisiana coast, fishermen don't want to take chances selling possibly contaminated crabs so they are pulling their traps and dumping their catches. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.

This satellite photo made Thursday, April 29, 2010 and provided by NASA shows the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico as it closes in on the Pass a Loutre area of Plaquemines Parish, La. Oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico was starting to ooze ashore Friday, threatening migrating birds, nesting pelicans, river otters and mink along Louisiana's fragile islands and barrier marshes.

In a Thursday, April 29, 2010 photo provided by Greenpeace, birds fly over oil on the water near Breton Sound Island on the southern most tip of the Chandeleur Islands in the Gulf of Mexico south of Louisiana, where oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead continues to spread.

A Thursday, April 29, 2010 photo provided by Greenpeace shows a view of Breton Sound Island on the southern most tip of the Chandeleur Islands in the Gulf of Mexico south of Louisiana, where oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead continues to spread.

Map locates the progression of the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico since April 25.

Oil booms that were placed in preparation of the looming oil spill from last week's collapse and oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig are strewn along the shoreline by choppy seas in Port Eads, La. on Thursday, April 29, 2010.

A shrimp boat, bottom, heads up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico in Port Eads, La., Thursday, April 29, 2010. The seafood industry is vulnerable to the looming oil spill from last week's collapse and spill of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

Oil boom barriers from the US Navy that is expected to stop the spread of oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster sit on a dock near a Navy skimmer (R) and boom handling boats (L) May 1, 2010 at the main port in Gulfport, Mississippi. US President Barack Obama will head to the Gulf of Mexico on May 2 to assess operations to combat a giant oil spill threatening fragile coastlines, the White House said.

DELACROIX, LA - MAY 01: James White carries a basket of Drum fish after pullling in the last of his catch before his fishing area was closed because of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 1, 2010 in Delacroix, Louisiana. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.

DELACROIX, LA - MAY 01: Eric Melerine sheds tears as he talks about possibly losing his fishing business, that has been in the family for genertions, if he can't continue to work because of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 1, 2010 in Delacroix, Louisiana. As oil-polluted waters approach the Louisiana coast, fishermen don't want to take chances selling possibly contaminated crabs so they are pulling their traps and dumping their catches. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.

Men position a buoy on board a boat with oil boom barriers from the US Navy that is expected to stop the spread of oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster May 1, 2010 at the main port in Gulfport, Mississippi. This boat will deploy the booms around two islands off the coast of Mississippi. US President Barack Obama will head to the Gulf of Mexico on May 2 to assess operations to combat a giant oil spill threatening fragile coastlines, the White House said.

Charter fishing captain Raymond Schmitt sits on his boat before sailing on the Mississippi River in Venice, La., Saturday, May 1, 2010. Frustrated fishermen eager to help contain a catastrophic oil spill along the Gulf Coast had to keep their boats idle Saturday as another day of rough seas kept crews away from the slick that may be even more devastating than first feared.

Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board chairman Harlen Pierce, left, speaks with charter and commercial fishermen in Venice, La., Friday, April 30, 2010. Local fishermen are worried about how their industry will withstand a growing oil spill that resulted from last week's explosion and collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana.

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, right center, speaks during a hazardous materials training seminar for fishermen, oil field workers, and other boaters at the Boothville-Venice School in Boothville, La., Friday, April 30, 2010. The group is getting trained to help clean up the oil spill.

Dr. Erica Miller, left, and Danene Birtell with Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research work to help a Northern Gannet bird, normally white when full grown, which is covered in oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico, at a facility in Fort Jackson, La., Friday, April 30, 2010.

Workers spread oil booms along a railroad trestle that crosses the bay in Bay St. Louis, Miss., as preparations continue to head off damage from an inpending oil spill along the Gulf coast Friday, April 30, 2010.

Guy Melton, left, and Mary Ladnier of Irvington, Ala., tag sacks of oysters at the Pass Christian, Miss., Small Craft Harbor on Friday April 30, 2010. Oystermen and shrimpers are worried that the oil spill from a sunken rig in the Gulf of Mexico will ruin the seafood industry in south Mississippi.

A fishermen surveys the wetlands near the town of Venice, in the path of the oil spill that is creeping towards the coast of Louisiana on April 29, 2010. A giant oil slick threatened economic and environmental devastation as it closed in on Louisiana's vulnerable coast, prompting the US government to declare a national disaster. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency and called for urgent help to prevent fragile wetlands and vital fishing communities along the coast from pollution on a massive scale. The wind started to strengthen and blow the 600-square-mile (1,550-square-kilometer) slick directly onto the coast, where a rich variety of wildlife were at risk in the maze of marshes that amounts to 40 percent of the US wetlands.

VENICE, LA - MAY 01: J.T. Thonn picks up shrimp from a container to sell at Schaefer & Rusich Seafood on May 1, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Commercial and recreational fishing east of the Mississippi River has been closed, as well as five zones of Oysters due to the expanding oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico.

BAY ST LOUIS, MS - MAY 02: A oil boom is seen washed ashore as the rain and high wind make it difficult to lay the booms out so they stay in place in an attempt to protect sensitive areas from the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 2, 2010 in Bay St Louis, Mississippi. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.

BAY ST LOUIS, MS - MAY 02: A dead fish is seen on the beach, as concern continues for the creatures that are in the path of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 2, 2010 in Bay St Louis, Mississippi. It is unknown if the fish died due to the oil spill. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.

Fishermen near the Venice Marina after a commercial and recreational fishing ban was imposed on oil affected areas following the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster off Louisiana on May 2, 2010. Louisiana's 2.4-billion-dollar a year commercial and recreational fishing industry was dealt its first major blow from the oil spill Sunday, as the US government banned activities for 10 days due to health concerns.'NOAA is restricting fishing for a minimum of ten days in federal waters most affected by the BP oil spill, largely between Louisiana state waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River to waters off Florida's Pensacola Bay. The closure is effective immediately,' said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Louisiana accounts for an estimated one-third of the country's total oyster output, and the Gulf of Mexico are prime spawning waters for fish, shrimp and crabs, as well as a major stop for migratory birds.

A charter boat operator cleans his boat at a Venice Marina after a commercial and recreational fishing ban was imposed on oil affected areas following the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster off Louisiana on May 2, 2010. Louisiana's 2.4-billion-dollar a year commercial and recreational fishing industry was dealt its first major blow from the oil spill Sunday, as the US government banned activities for 10 days due to health concerns.'NOAA is restricting fishing for a minimum of ten days in federal waters most affected by the BP oil spill, largely between Louisiana state waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River to waters off Florida's Pensacola Bay. The closure is effective immediately,' said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Louisiana accounts for an estimated one-third of the country's total oyster output, and the Gulf of Mexico are prime spawning waters for fish, shrimp and crabs, as well as a major stop for migratory birds.

WASHINGTON - MAY 2: U.S. President Barack Obama departs the White House May 2, 2010 in Washington, DC. President Obama was on his way to Louisiana, where he will conduct a personal assessment of the aftermath of the explosion of a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which continues to spill millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf, threatening fisheries and beaches.

WASHINGTON - MAY 2: U.S. President Barack Obama waves to the press as he departs the White House May 2, 2010 in Washington, DC. President Obama was on his way to Louisiana, where he will conduct a personal assessment of the aftermath of the explosion of a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which continues to spill millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf, threatening fisheries and beaches.

In this photo provided by LSU AgCenter, Worker ants and larvae _ the white spheres _ nesting in a marsh grass called Spartina alterniflora found Feb. 3, 2012, in southeast Bay Batiste in Plaquemines. These ants have all but disappeared from some areas hit by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, which did not reach the Bay Batiste marsh, says LSU Agricultural Center entomologist Linda Hooper-Bui. She is comparing insect and spider populations in areas hit by the spill to those in areas left untouched by it.

A file picture shows the oil slick passing inside of the protective barrier formed by the Chandeleur Islands, as cleanup operations continue for the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster off Louisiana, on May 7, 2010. Tens of billions of dollars will be at stake when BP heads to a US court this month to determine how much it owes for the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill and how much it can shift to subcontractors.

WASHINGTON - MAY 17: Secretary of the Interior Kenneth L. Salazar arrives for a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Capitol Hill May 17, 2011 in Washington, DC. The committee called Secretary of the Interior Kenneth L. Salazar, BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill national incident commander Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen (ret.) and others to testify about pending legislation that would allow oil and gas exploration and potential development on federal land and waters near in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico.

BAY ST. LOUIS, MS - APRIL 18: Brad Mizell looks on before attending a meeting for Gulf Coast residents who have health problems possibly related to the BP oil spill April 18, 2011 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Mizell worked on BP's Vessels of Opportunity program which hired local fishermen to help clean up the oil spill. Mizell believes he was exposed to toxic dispersants and says he has since lost 50 pounds and developed a form of Rheumatoid arthritis. Mizell says he is now on 17 medications including steroids. He says, 'I've never been sick a day in my life.' More than 2 million gallons of the toxic dispersant Corexit were poured into the Gulf of Mexico following the spill. Corexit is banned in all of Europe because of its toxicity.

BLIND BAY, LA - MAY 26: Journalist Anderson Cooper is seen reflected in oil coated water in remote marsh lands where oil came ashore May 26, 2010 in Blind Bay, Louisiana. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill released almost 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico that flowed for three months. The complete environmental impact of the oil spill will not be known for years but the immediate impact of the oil, and the chemicals used to disperse it, resulted in the death of unprecedented numbers of wildlife. The Deepwater Horizon disaster was the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The impact of the spill continues to affect life along the Gulf Coast of the United States.

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 11: Former Sen. Bob Graham (R) and William Reilly (L), co-chairmen of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, announce the findings of the commission's final report on January 11, 2011 in Washington, DC. The commission concluded that only 'urgent reform' could prevent another environmental disaster similar to BP's blown out Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.

PORT SULPHUR, LA - JANUARY 07: Photographer Rusty Costanza of the New Orleans Times Picayune removes his oiled boot from marsh after getting stuck in oil near Bay Jimmy on January 7, 2011 in Port Sulphur, Louisiana.'We continue to find oil in different parts of Plaquemines Parsh --Redfish Bay, Bay Jimmy, Pas a Loutre--Depending on the tides, wind and thunderstorms,' said Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser. 11 people where killed when BP's Deepwater Horison Oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20th of 2010.

BARATARIA BAY, LA - DECEMBER 05: Shrimp boats are seen December 5, 2010 in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. Shrimping has been reopened in the area although 4,200 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico remains closed to shrimping after tarballs were found in a shrimpers net. Nearly eight months after the spill, oil remains along the shoreline of some of the barrier islands in the area and has killed off sections of marsh grass. BP lawyers said that government estimates of the size of the oil spill are too large in a dispute that will mark how many billions of dollars in fines the oil giant will have to pay.

WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 08: Chief Counsel Fred Bartlit holds up a piece of a mechanical valve while speaking during a two-day hearing of the National Commission of BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling at the Grand Hyatt Hotel November 8, 2010 in Washington, DC. The commission is hearing testimony on causes of blowout and drilling safety on BP Deepwater Horizon which exploded and leaked oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 12: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answers reporters' questions during the daily press briefing at the White House October 12, 2010 in Washington, DC. The Obama Administration announced Tuesday that it has lifted the moritorium on deep water oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, almost five months after the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting spill.

WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 27: Members of the Oil Spill Commission listen to Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, national incident commander for the Gulf oil spill, speak during a BP Oil Spill Commission panel discussion on September 27, 2010 in Washington, DC. The commission is hearing testimony on the decision making within the unified command in dealing with the April 20 explosion and fire killed 11 workers, sunk the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and unleashed 206 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico.

WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 22: Secretary of the Interior Kenneth L. Salazar (L), Don Winter of the National Academy of Engineering (2L), Gulf Oil Spill National Incident Commander Adm. Thad Allen (Ret.) (2R) and Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes wait for a meeting at the Department of the Interior September 22, 2010 in Washington, DC. Secretary of the Interior Kenneth L. Salazar hosted Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Gulf Oil Spill National Incident Commander Adm. Thad Allen (Ret.), representatives from the private sector and others to discus strengthening the containment abilities to deep water oil and gas well blowouts like the recent BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 22: U.S Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter V. Neffenger (C), Deputy National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response, listens to Actor Kevin Costner (L) and Craig Paul Taffaro Jr. (R), president of St. Bernard Parish La., give their testimony on the Department of Homeland Security's response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in a House of Representative's Committee on Homeland Security hearing at the Cannon House Office Building on September 22, 2010 in Washington, DC. Costner has helped fund and develop technology for oil cleanup that includes oil-separating machines and specialized boats for oil collection.

One of the New harbor Islands is protected by two oil booms against the oil slick that has passsed inside of the protective barrier formed by the Chandeleur Islands, as cleanup operations continue for the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster off Louisiana, on May 10, 2010. Days after failing to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill with a giant dome, BP said it will make a second attempt this week using a smaller version dubbed the 'top hat.' A four-story, 100-ton box was lowered Friday to the seabed to try to capture most of the oil and allow it to be funneled up to a ship on the surface, but it was rendered useless on Sunday when ice crystals formed in its domed roof. BP experts believe the smaller 'top hat' containment box would not suffer the same problem as it would not hold so much freezing cold seawater, and they are preparing to drop it into the inky depths to carry out a similar fix to what is unfolding as one the worst oil spills in US history.

US President Barack Obama (L) looks at tar balls as he speaks with Coast Guard Commandant charged with overseeing the oil spill response Admiral Thad Allen (R) and LaFourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph (C) as they tour Port Fourchon Beach, Louisiana, on May 28, 2010 before a briefing on the federal government's response to the Gulf Coast oil spill. Obama arrived in Louisiana to view the oil spill response amid suspense over the latest bid to cap the massive leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

US President Barack Obama speaks after meeting with Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen (L) and local officials on efforts to fight the BP oil spill June 14, 2010 at Coast Guard Station Gulfport in Gulfport, Mississippi. Obama arrived Monday in the Gulf of Mexico region at the start of a two-day visit to the oil-hit southern states.

Lamar McKay (L), President and Chairman, BP America, Inc, Steven Newman (C), President and Chief Executive Officer Transocean Limited and Tim Probert (R), President Global Business Lines, Chief Health, Safety and Environmental Officer Halliburton, are sworn in during the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee full committee hearing on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill's environmental impacts May 11, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

GULF OF MEXICO - SEPTEMBER 4: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been released by U.S. Military prior to transmission. ) In this handout image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, the damaged blow out preventer along with the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) cap from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that caused the massive oil spill is extracted and put aboard the vessel Q4000 on September 4, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. The 50-foot, 300-ton preventer was removed and replaced on the well head by a newly tested preventer and will be taken for evidence to a NASA facility in Louisiana in the ongoing investigation with the Deepwater Horizon Criminal Investigation Team and FBI Evidence Recovery Team.

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 20: BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill National Incident Commander Thad Allen briefs reporters about the latest progress in capping the blown-out well and the continued clean up of the Gulf of Mexico on August 20, 2010 in Washington, DC. Allen thanked the press and the public for their patience with the pace of the spill response and said he wants to put 'a stake in the heart' of the Macondo well four months after it began releasing an estimated 4.1 million barrels of oil into the gulf.

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 19: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Response and Restoration Senior Scientist Bill Lehr (L) uses a digital calculator to figure a percentage of oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon spill while testifying before the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee with Assistant EPA Administrator in the Office of Research and Development Paul Anastas (C) and Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Acting Deputy Director Donald Kraemer on Capitol Hill August 19, 2010 in Washington, DC. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) was the only member of Congress present to question the witnesses. Lehr said that NOAA estimates that 4.1 million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico and that 75 percent of that oil is still present in the environment in either evaporated or dispersed form.