BILOXI, Miss. – BP’s new boss says it’s time for a “scaleback” in cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Federal officials say there is no way the crude could reach the East Coast. And fishing areas are starting to reopen.

There were several signs Friday that the days of thousands of oil-skimming boats and hazmat-suited beach crews is giving way to long-term efforts to clean up, compensate people for their losses and understand the damage wrought. Local fishermen are doubtful, however, and say oil remains a bigger problem than BP and the federal government are letting on.

Other people contend the effect of the spill has been overblown, given that little oil remains on the Gulf surface, but Bob Dudley, who heads BP’s oil spill recovery and will take over as CEO in October, rejected those claims.

“Anyone who thinks this wasn’t a catastrophe must be far away from it,” he said in Biloxi, where he announced that former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt will be supporting BP’s Gulf restoration work.

After an April 20 rig explosion that killed 11 workers, BP’s blown-out well gushed an estimated 94 million to 184 million gallons of oil before a temporary cap stopped it July 15.

Efforts to plug the gusher permanently had been expected to begin as early as Sunday, but the government’s point man for the spill said Friday that those plans hit a snag.

Crews found debris in the bottom of the relief well that ultimately will be used to plug the leak for good, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.

The debris must be fished out before crews can begin a procedure known as a static kill that they hope will make the rest of the job easier.

The blown-out well could be killed for good by late August, though a tropical storm could set the timetable back.

As the work of plugging the well appears to reach the homestretch, so does much of the cleanup work. Relatively little oil remains on the surface of the Gulf, leaving less for thousands of oil skimmers to do.

Dudley said it’s “not too soon for a scaleback” in the cleanup, and in areas where there is no oil, “you probably don’t need to see people in hazmat suits on the beach.”

He added, however, that there is “no pullback” in BP’s commitment to clean up the spill.

Witt, who was FEMA director under President Bill Clinton, said he wants to set up teams along the Gulf to work with BP to address long-term restoration and people’s needs.

“Our hope is that we can do it as fast as we can,” Witt said.

“I’ve seen the anguish and the pain that people have suffered after disaster events. I have seen communities come back better than before.”

Commercial fishermen, meanwhile, were allowed back on a section of Louisiana waters east of the Mississippi River on Friday.