Barack Obama, the US president, has promised "to do whatever it takes" to stop the oil slick that emanated from a damaged rig from devastating the country's gulf coast, which he called a "massive and potentially unprecedented disaster". 

He made the comments after holding talks on the crisis with officials in Louisiana, one of the four states threatened by the oil slick.

Obama also acknowledged that the spill could be disastrous for the fishing industry in the region, which has prime spawning waters for fish, shrimp and crabs.  

Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker reports from Venice in Louisiana, where the fishing industry has been hit hard by the disaster.