Tag Archives: Lafourche

Blessing of the Fleet: Boat blessings return to Terrebonne and Lafourche

After Dulac was ravaged by Hurricane Ida, this year’s shrimp boat blessing holds a special place for the Rev. Antonio Speedy of Holy Family Catholic Church. “Hurricane Ida has turned our community upside down,” he said. “It’s not the first time the people here have been through a hurricane, but this one was different from the rest. Many people have been left homeless, and the fishing season has started off slowly. There was debris all over the water.” After months of recovery, Speedy said blessing shrimp boats was the last thing on his mind. But as April approached, he began getting requests for the annual tradition. Photo gallery, >click to read< 12:24

Hurricane Ida: Local trawler pushing forward, despite changes in the industry

Louisiana – Local trawler Brad Duet has been trawling for all of his adult life. “I make a good living, and I love what I do. It’s just a shame there’s no more people getting into this. I feel like those of us out there now are a little bit like the last of a dying breed.” At 18, he became the captain of his own boat. He partnered with his mother to run a boat and get his start as a full-time captain. By 25, it was time for him to be fully on his own, so he went to the bank and secured financing for the F/V Sassy Sandy the boat he runs today. Hurricane Ida has done a lot to change the local trawling industry, and he’s not sure if things are ever truly going to get back to the “old normal.”  >click to read< 17:25