Tag Archives: Bayou La Batre
Bayou La Batre mayor hopes new label law causes consumers to demand locally-caught shrimp
The leader of the “Seafood Capital of Alabama” says imported shrimp is destroying Bayou La Batre’s economy. Mayor Henry Barnes says it’s gotten to the point that he questions how much longer the small fishing community can remain a city. He says tax revenue is down 40%-50%. “I’m probably the last mayor because the way it looks, the city’s dying. We’ll probably wind up under the county if it keeps going like it’s going,” said Barnes. The flood of foreign seafood gained attention this week when a third-party commercial seafood consulting company, SeaD, said only one out of five vendors tested at the recent shrimp festival in Gulf Shores was selling Gulf wild-caught shrimp. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:46
Alabama politician advocates for imported seafood inspection bill
Representative Chip Brown of Alabama House District 105 is set to introduce House Bill One during next year’s legislative session. This bill aims to impose a $200 fee on seafood dealers caught selling imported seafood. The money will fund inspections by the Alabama Department of Public Health. “I think that’s a good thing,” said Tammy Hall, co-owner of Sea Harvest Fresh Shrimp Boat and Bridgeside Seafood Market in Bayou La Batre. “I think the fine should be more than $200, myself.” “It keeps our shrimp prices low,” said Hall. “People can buy an imported shrimp say like jumbo jumbo shrimp for $1.50 a pound .. we can’t afford to sell it for $1.50 a pound with the rising prices of fuel and ice.”To adjust, Hall and her family decided to sell directly to the public. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:07
75th annual Blessing of the Fleet: The last for some shrimpers
Archbishop Thomas Rodi led the town in prayer for safety and fruition over the waters in Bayou La Batre. After the prayer, the Archbishop, the Blessing of the Fleet Queens, and Father Micheal Long Vu boarded a boat. Father Vu dropped a blessed wreath into the water to honor the souls who were lost at sea. However, despite the yearly tradition, shrimpers say the blessings are not going very far. “We’re all probably going to have a little cry it’s our last year doing it and we will probably not be going to be able to do it again,” Haleigh Keith lamented. For the past 20 years, Haleigh and Peyton have gone shrimping with their grandfather on the family’s shrimping boat called “God’s Blessing’s”. However, that boat is going on sale at the end of the season. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:41
Bayou La Batre seeks help amid foreign seafood invasion
Bayou La Batre, “Alabama’s seafood capital”, is experiencing some major economic adversity causing Mayor Henry Barnes to issue a declaration of disaster. The issue is a flood of foreign seafood being dumped into the area which is effecting the local fishing community. State Rep. Chip Brown has requested Gov. Kay Ivey issue a disaster declaration, which would lead to an increase of resources to tackle the problem. “I am writing to request a disaster declaration for Bayou La Batre and South Mobile County, Alabama’s Seafood Capital,” Brown (R-Hollinger’s Island) wrote. “With the price of gas hitting record highs, and the value of shrimp now worth only $1 per pound, more and more shrimp boat owners are unable to do anything other than dock their vessels. >click to read< 17:43
Bayou La Batre fishermen back on the water after sitting idle due to soaring fuel prices
A large turnout Sunday for the annual Blessing of the Fleet at the docks behind Saint Margaret’s Catholic Church in Bayou La Batre. It was a much-needed event for shrimpers to come together after having to stop work due to the pain at the pump. Several fishing crews gathered at the docks excited to be a part of the blessing today “We’ve cleaned her up and put a little makeup on the old gal so we put her in the fleet blessing,” said Joseph Rodriguez, shrimp boat owner. >click to read< 09:11
Gulf Coast fishing industry suffering due to high gas/fuel prices
Bayou La Batre Mayor Henry Barnes Sr. says some commercial fishing businesses have been forced to tie up their boats for t least a month due to extremely expensive gas bills. “Their fuel bill for one trip can run anywhere from $30-$50,000 for one trip because it’s high,” Barnes said. “It’s a domino effect you know you’ve got the shrimpers who catch it and you got the processors that process it. They’ll hire anywhere from 40 to 50 people per business. That’s 40 to 50 families that’s going to be without a job because of fuel prices,” Video, >click to read< 07:27
The Next Generation: Fleet Fisheries’ new scallop boat is turning heads
When you see the new fishing vessel Viking Power, you’ll know it. Due to arrive in New Bedford in early November, the unusual-looking scalloper has a hull that slopes outward at the bow. Just below the water line, it comes to a rounded point, like the nose of rocket. Fleet Fisheries owner Lars Vinjerud II commissioned the boat. He said the aerodynamic shape serves two goals: to make the boat more fuel efficient, and to make it more comfortable and safer for the crew. The boat should do less pitching in rough seas. “This boat has a lot of firsts,” Vinjerud said. “This whole boat is outside the box.” Photo’s, >click to read< 18:18
Video – Brand new scalloper F/V Viking Power maiden launch >click to watch<
Bayou La Batre – Coastal Alabama Citizens Rise Up And Defeat Job-Killing Eco-Tourism Ordinance
Fearing the loss of both their livelihood and their way of life, residents of Bayou La Batre, Alabama, banded together earlier this summer and scuttled a city ordinance crafted to promote eco-tourism. Located along the Gulf Coast, a few miles southwest of Mobile, Bayou La Batre is a fishing village with a vibrant seafood-processing industry. The city of 2,500 souls has survived Hurricane Katrina and other unpleasant visitors from the tropics. But a 200-page zoning proposal developed by the city’s planning commission with assistance from the Southeast Alabama Regional Planning Commission (SARPC) and environmental groups triggered a storm of protest that sent the city’s mayor and his supporters running for cover. >click to read<12:04
Land & Sea: Wooden vs. Steel Longliners – Take a trip back in time with an archival episode from 1980
This 1980 episode of Land & Sea opens with the scene of a champagne bottle exploding on the bow of a new longliner. The show explores the tension surrounding wooden and steel-hulled longliners at a time when boatbuilding design was evolving to match new fishing technology. Owner Charles Hussey of Port de Grave isn’t bothered by the $500,000 price tag for his new, wooden, 17-metre vessel, the Eastern Harvester, built in Arthur Petten’s boat yard in South River.,,, The Land & Sea crew went south in this episode to Bayou la Batre, the headquarters for steel-hulled boat building. Video, click here to read the story 20:31
Shrimp net-making is still alive in Bayou La Batre
Steve Sprinkle still makes his shrimp nets in Bayou La Batre by hand, an art that has all but disappeared from the American scene. His small shop is full of character and age-old bits and pieces of what is needed for the ancient craft. Inside, you might spot Sprinkle seated and driving needles around green string over and over. Some things have to be made by hand if they are to stand the test of time and the test of the rough, deep Gulf. “It started in the early 1900s when rowboats would drop a net and catch shrimp; then they came out with combustion engines and started towing the net through the water to pick up the shrimp,” Sprinkle said. “My family was on Dauphin Island over 200 years ago. My great-grandfather would shrimp on his own feet wading in the water and pulling a net with his hands.” More images, video, read the rest here 08:50
