"During President Obama's visit to the Louisiana coast, he got an earful from local officials about his six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Many people -- from work boat captains to offshore caterers -- say shutting down the industry for that long could be a bigger economic blow to the region than the oil spill itself.

The giant work boats maneuvering in the tight quarters of Port Fourchon, La., are a lifeline for the drilling rigs and oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico. But Joey Marshall, who captains the HOS Mystique, worries that business will plummet because of the moratorium on deep-water drilling in U.S. waters."

John Ydstie reports for NPR's Morning Edition June 7, 2010. [2]