WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hot evening air, heavy with the smell of fresh seafood, settled over Washington's open air fish market as hungry shoppers swarmed around its neon-lit booths.

Ryan Evans, manager of Jessie Taylor Seafood, leaned over his counter, piled high with 12 different types of glistening shrimp. He gestured to his "raw-barge" and explained that despite his extensive selection, shrimp has been a tough sell this summer.

"People have been asking about our shrimp. We used to buy 'em from the Gulf," Evans said. "But not since that oil spill. And not for awhile."

Jessie Taylor Seafood bought and sold Gulf shrimp for more than 50 years, up until this April when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, causing oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico. Evans has had to stock the less-popular North Carolina shrimp ever since.

"Gulf shrimp are easier to peel than other kinds and I like the flavor better. Four-to-one, people prefer the Gulf shrimp to the Carolina shrimp," Evans said with a laugh. "Oh yeah, people notice the difference."

Despite his feelings for Carolina shrimp, Evans isn't ready to trust seafood coming out of the Gulf just yet.

"Let's give it a little more time. After the government approves it all, I'll wait maybe two or three months and then we'll take it from there, but definitely not at first," he said.

The U.S. federal government has been reopening fisheries in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi waters since the end of June, and a message on the Food and Drug Administration's website assures consumers that, after rigorous testing, Gulf seafood is safe to eat:

"Although crude oil has the potential to taint seafood with flavors and odors caused by exposure to hydrocarbon chemicals, the public should not be concerned about the safety of seafood in stores at this time. Fish and shellfish harvested from areas reopened or unaffected by the closures are considered safe to eat."

U.S. President Barack Obama also joined the effort to re-establish confidence in Gulf seafood this summer. In a very public display of leading by example, Obama served Gulf shrimp at his birthday barbeque in August and, even as far back as June, was chowing down on shrimp and crawfish in Louisiana with local politicians.

Still, many vendors at the D.C. fish market, key players in getting seafood out of Gulf waters and onto consumer's plates, don't feel good about buying it quite yet. Sunny White, owner of Captain White's Seafood, explained that this summer, he has been buying his seafood from places like Canada and Ecuador -- from everywhere except the Gulf of Mexico.

White glanced at a sea of hungry customers at a neighboring booth, slurping down cold raw oysters and waiting for their Cajun crayfish and spiced crabs to come out of the big steaming pot behind the counter.

"The industry down there, it's hurting," White said. "But we won't buy their oysters for awhile. I think it's going to take awhile for things to get straightened out down there and I just don't know how the public's going to react."