On May 2, 2010, 12 days after the blow up and fire of the Deepwater Horizon, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) closed 6,817 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico to fishing. The reason was to make sure that seafood that might be poisoned by the oil would not be sold and maybe make people sick. The U.S. government closed large areas to fishing from the middle of the Atchafalaya Bay of Louisiana, across the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, and as far as Panama City, Florida. State waters were also closed to fishing in much of the same area. The largest area closed to fishing was 88,522 sq. miles (229,270 km) on June 2, 2010. By the end of November, 2010, most of the waters were opened to fishing again, with only 1041 sq miles (2697 km) still closed. However, there was still some oil residue to be found. For example, tar balls were sometimes found in shrimper’s nets.