That was a month ago. The company, one of the few seafood processors left in downtown Hampton, Va., is still waiting for a reply.

"I put in a claim, but I haven't heard back from them," said Meade Amory, vice president of the King Street business.

While most attention from the oil spill centers on the gulf, there are businesses throughout the country that are feeling the weight of the spill. Virginia's oyster industry has lost $11.6 million (€8.8 million) since April, according to a report from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Oysters