Gulf Coast coping with aftermath of Katrina, BP spill

It's been 5 years since Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc along the Gulf coast and 60 months later much of the region is still trying to rebuild. Complicating the recovery effort is this Spring's massive BP oil spill, which created even more problems for communities already struggling to revive their local economies.

Ewell Smith, the Executive Director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, spoke to Fox News a day ahead of the President's Sunday visit to New Orleans to mark the anniversary. The President will speak at 3pm eastern time, when he is expected to reaffirm his Administration's commitment to the Gulf, and reassure local business owners they're not alone in their efforts. Smith, who recently teamed up with ready4takeoff.org, a Gulf organization aimed at revitalizing local businesses, says standing behind business owners is the key to revitalizing the economy.

Smith says if residents have learned anything during the past 5 years, it is that "the region can come out strong on the other side" of disaster. In a region where so much depends on the fishing industry, Smith says he's pushing for large entities, including "the Department of Defense and school systems to buy seafood from the Gulf coast to build up demand within the seafood community."

For a region that still hasn't recovered from Katrina, Smith says the biggest problem remains one of perception. He underscored the fact that Gulf seafood has been given a "clean bill of health from the FDA, the EPA and the NOAA" and that close to 30,000 seafood samples have been tested and approved for consumption.

In the wake of considerable criticism over the Obama Administration's handling of the BP spill, it remains to be seen how the President's remarks in New Orleans will be received by local residents on Sunday.

For more on the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, log on to http://www.foxnews.com/topics/business/hurricane-katrina.htm