The oil spill's impact is threatening to widen far beyond the Gulf region's key industries.

Tourism, fishing, shipping and drilling form the backbone of the local economy, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. 'Each passing day, the risks that it affects those industries increases,' he said. 'If they're impaired, the region's economy will be hurt significantly.'

And the direct effect of the disaster on those industries will be magnified by their broad reach in local economies that were hit hard by the recession. For example, Economy.com estimates that every job in the oil-and-gas industry supports eight jobs elsewhere in the region. So even though the industry directly employs fewer than 10,000 workers overall in the hubs of Houma, La., Mobile, Ala., and Pascagoula, Miss., 75,000 total jobs are reliant on the industry, according to the estimate.

The fishing industry's fortunes also resonate widely. At dockside, the value of shrimp, oysters and fish brought in to Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi totals less than $400 million a year. That is small relative to the states' combined gross domestic product of nearly $500 billion. But seafood brokers, fish shops and restaurants throughout the Southeast depend on the availability of Gulf seafood.

So worries about the economic costs of the disaster are spreading to a range of companies that do business in the region. For now, though, there is more concern than harm as the overall impact of the oil leak remains unclear and cleanup efforts provide a lift for some.

The oil spill has prompted a sales shift at boating-parts company West Marine Inc., which has 20 stores in the Northern Gulf region and another 20 on Florida's west coast. Sales of items such as boat barbecues, floats and GPS devices are down as the disaster cuts into recreational boating.

In response, West Marine is ramping up production of commercial products such as anchors, flares and life jackets to outfitemergency responders, Chief Executive Geoff Eisenberg said. 'We have a significant supply chain and as demand for products changes we try to react to it immediately,' he said, adding that overall, sales are steady. The drop in recreational purchases has been offset by commercial sales as boaters join the cleanup efforts, Mr. Eisenberg said.

For real-estate development firm St. Joe Co., the impact on its holdings in northwest Florida remains uncertain but it is working with a consultant to track the spill and plan a response.

'The oil spill could have a direct negativeimpact on our beachfront and coastal properties and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition,' the company said in a statement last month.

Even supermarket chain Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., which has 55 stores in the New Orleans area, has expressed concern. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last month, it said the spill may have 'negativeimpacts on fishing, tourism and shipping industries,' but that it was too soon to tell whether sales would be affected.

Justin Lahart / Dana Mattioli

• shipping [´ʃipiŋ] n.船运业；船舶(总数) (初中英语单词)
• economy [i´kɔnəmi] n.经济；机制；组织 (初中英语单词)
• disaster [di´zɑ:stə] n.灾难，不幸 (初中英语单词)
• elsewhere [,elsweə] ad.在别处；向别处 (初中英语单词)
• mississippi [,misi´sipi] n.密西西比(河) (初中英语单词)
• relative [´relətiv] a.有关系的 n.亲属 (初中英语单词)
• domestic [də´mestik] a.家庭的；本国的 (初中英语单词)
• commercial [kə´mə:ʃəl] a.商业的 n.广告节目 (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• florida [´flɔridə] n.佛罗里达 (初中英语单词)
• uncertain [ʌn´sə:tn] a.不定的；不可靠的 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• financial [fi´nænʃəl] a.金融的，财政的 (初中英语单词)
• billion [´biljən] num.万亿 (高中英语单词)
• marine [mə´ri:n] a.海的 n.海军陆战队 (高中英语单词)
• response [ri´spɔns] n.回答；响应 (高中英语单词)
• outfit [´aut,fit] n.装备 vt.供给；装备 (高中英语单词)
• emergency [i´mə:dʒənsi] n.事变；紧急关头 (高中英语单词)
• significant [sig´nifikənt] a.重要的；意义重大的 (高中英语单词)
• northwest [,nɔ:θ´west] n.&ad.西北(部) (高中英语单词)
• negative [´negətiv] a.否定的 n.否定词 (高中英语单词)
• commission [kə´miʃən] n.委任(状) vt.委任 (高中英语单词)
• fishing [´fiʃiŋ] n.钓鱼；捕鱼；渔业 (英语四级单词)
• backbone [´bækbəun] n.脊骨；骨干；支柱 (英语四级单词)
• economist [i´kɔnəmist] n.经济学家；节俭的人 (英语四级单词)
• alabama [,ælə´bæmə] n.亚拉巴马(州) (英语四级单词)
• louisiana [lu(:),izi´ænə] n.路易斯安那州 (英语四级单词)
• southeast [,sauθ´i:st] n.&a.东南(方) (英语四级单词)
• adverse [´ædvə:s] a.不利的；反对的 (英语四级单词)
• orleans [ɔ:´liənz] n.奥尔良 (英语四级单词)
• impact [´impækt] n.影响，作用；冲击 (英语六级单词)
• offset [´ɔ:fset] n.&vt.抵销；补偿 (英语六级单词)