Tag Archives: President Acy Cooper

Louisiana: Lawmakers taking action to protect state’s seafood industry

Fishermen in Louisiana are suffering from imports and they’re worried about the future of the seafood industry in the state. It’s why lawmakers are putting tougher restrictions on imports to help struggling shrimpers. Fishermen say they are at risk of losing their livelihoods due to inflation and the abundance of imported seafood. It’s why shrimpers stood on the capitol steps urging lawmakers to do something. Louisiana Shrimp Association President Acy Cooper has been a fisherman in Louisiana for 45 years. He said he hopes he is able to keep it alive so that his grandkids can carry on the legacy. >click to read< 09:12

Louisiana shrimpers call for legislators to take action, cap shrimp imports

“We have begged and pleaded for years and years and years for help, and we’ve been shunned, disregarded, ignored continuously,” said Captain Kip Marquize. “No longer can a blind eye be turned to our cause, it just cannot happen any longer. We will be completely extinct.” The Louisiana Shrimp Association held a “State of the Industry” meeting in Cut Off on Tuesday, with the goal of gathering as many shrimpers as they can to call on legislators to take action. “We have coasts that are just full of shrimp, we have processors that can’t sell shrimp, we have docks that can’t get rid of them,” said Acy Cooper, President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. “We have people that just can’t go out because they can’t get rid of the shrimp, and there’s no need for that.” Video, >click to read< 10:09