U.S. Congressman Garret Graves is calling for the U.S. Department of Commerce to immediately declare a “Fishery Disaster Determination” due to both the biological resources and fishery infrastructure sustaining major damage related to Hurricane Ida. Commerce is able to declare the disaster provided by the provisions within the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act. The declared disaster would provide targeted relief to one of the most impacted sectors of Louisiana’s economy. The funds would help both commercial and recreational fishers begin to recover. >click to read< 18:31
Tag Archives: Louisiana
Graves seeks Federal Fishery Disaster Determination for Louisiana
U.S. Rep. Garret Graves recently urged the Biden Administration to declare a Fishery Disaster Determination that would provide targeted relief to one of Louisiana’s most impacted sectors and help both commercial and recreational fishers begin to recover from myriad disasters. “Our fishermen have taken a pounding over the last several years. Hurricanes, floods, unfair trade practices, over-regulation, and a global pandemic have delivered a major blow to our workforce and consumer demand,” Rep. Graves wrote in a Jan. 20 letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Under law, only the Commerce Secretary can make this determination,,, >click to read< 08:18
The Oysterman, the Pirate and Louisiana’s disappearing wetlands
Maurer was in a bind. Hurricane Ida had decimated the supply chain. The storm swept through the heart of Louisiana’s $2.4bn seafood industry, which supports one out of 70 jobs in the state, leaving him with no roads, no power, and very little seed. He decided he needed to find “new routes to market, whether by boat or by land. Go pirate on them.” He meant this literally. As he looked for a solution among the lingering chaos of the hurricane, he thought of the notorious pirate Jean Laffite, who once operated out of Grand Isle. Maurer decided he would follow the same route: He bought Les Bons Temps to see if he could bring his catch to town directly, bypassing the wrecked roads and bridges. photos, >click to read< 15:12
Lifelong trawler says success comes to those who love the craft
Local trawler Blake Badeaux said he doesn’t know how much longer the local seafood industry will survive in southeast Louisiana due to tough prices and competition from imports. But he plans to be on the water as long as he’s physically able to keep going. Badeaux said he’s been on a trawl boat since he’s 6 months old, and he’s going to keep on going as long as he can, calling a life on the water a labor of love. When asked why he believes fewer younger people are getting into the profession, he said that he believes manual labor is a factor that is likely pulling people away. “There’s not many young people nowadays who like the hard manual labor that comes with trawling,” >click to read< 19:55
Hurricane Ida turns Houma oysterman’s life upside down
For more than six hours, fifth-generation Houma oysterman Jacob David Hulse; his girlfriend, Lindsey Willis; and his dog, Change; huddled inside a friend’s oyster shop as Hurricane Ida slammed ashore Aug. 29. As the more than 140-mph winds started to subside, Hulse, 33, thought he had gone through the worst of it. But as many Louisiana fishermen are finding out, his troubles were only beginning. “Many in our Louisiana seafood families like the Hulses are still homeless from the hurricanes and not sure from where their next meal is coming,” said Ewell Smith a board member with the Gulf Seafood Foundation and a member of the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition. >click to read< 11:30
Louisiana Fishing Industry Suffered $579 Million in Damages Due to 2020-21 Hurricanes
Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta, and Ida, which swept through Louisiana during various points in 2020 and 2021, resulted in an estimated $579 million in losses to the state’s fisheries infrastructure, revenues, and biological resources, according to a study by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, LSU and Louisiana Sea Grant. The study’s findings, released today, analyzes monetized losses to fisheries infrastructure (including vessels), sales or gross revenue, and resources losses to fish and oysters. The study also projects financial losses that are continuing into 2022. >click to read< 10:14
Port of Delcambre improving docks with $2M federal grant
While Bayou Carlin is a great place fishermen can sell directly to the public, it’s not without its flaws. Sunken shrimp boats litter the docks, debris rests in the channel, and hurricanes have damaged the structure. Port of Delcambre Director Wendell Verret admits the local seafood industry has been in decline for many years. “We’re just hanging on by our fingernails really to be honest,” Storms, the economy, even marine biology can all be obstacles to the Louisiana fisherman. Though those things are outside of the industry’s control, the infrastructure is. Video, >click to read< 15:34
‘Bonfires on the Levee’ – A Christmas Eve Spectacular!
The Louisiana River Parishes Tourist Commission, along with Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, culminated the Christmas season with ‘Bonfires on the Levee’ in St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist on Friday, Dec. 24. The Christmas Eve spectacular was canceled last year due to COVID-19. But the tradition is back, and this year features a 67-foot Louisiana Blue Crab bonfire in Garyville. Lots of happy people attended this over three-hundred-year-old Christmas Eve tradition. >click to watch< 14:42
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
Jean Lafitte-area fishermen struggle with wrecked boats, lost businesses and lots of mud
When Hurricane Ida blew through lower Jefferson Parish in late August, it brought wind, rain and surge. What it left behind was mud,,, Larry Helmer, 70, who’s been fishing local waters his whole life, can’t get either of his boats out from where they’re docked at his home on Anthony Lane in Barataria. “If I can’t get out on my boat, I can’t go fish, and at my age, I can’t go on no job hunt,” he said, chuckling ruefully. Helmer’s son, who lives two canals away, is in the same position. “He can’t even go to work. His boat is just about on bottom,” Helmer said. “It’s terrible, man — it’s just terrible. The mud from this hurricane just filled these canals in.” >click to read< 07:36
Coast Guard medevacs crewmember from fishing vessel near Grand Isle, La.
The Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember from a fishing vessel Thursday near Grand Isle, Louisiana. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a report over VHF-FM Channel 16 at approximately 1:15 a.m. from the 105-foot fishing vessel, F/V Bossman, of a crewmember who was experiencing chest pains and difficulty breathing. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. Video,>click to read< 16:49
For Dulac crabbing family, Hurricane Ida leaves destruction and strain
With Hurricane Ida’s unrelenting winds clocking more than 170 mph, Shane Luke questioned his decision to stay aboard his 38-foot shrimp boat in Bayou Grand Caillou. Outside the tiny windows, he watched helplessly as the rollup door to the family’s concrete crab-processing building flapped in the wind like a piece of paper in front of a fan. As the mast cracked like wooden matchstick, he took refuge in engine room, hoping it would be a final line of defense against Ida’s wrath. Three hundred miles to the east in Kehmah, Texas, Trudy Luke huddled with her husband, Timmy, and the rest of her family, worrying about her son as well as what would remain of her business upon return. photos, >click to read< 11:06
“Focus on our Fishermen” – JEDCO, Town of Jean Lafitte to Host Seafood Industry Event
Hurricane Ida and COVID-19 have had a devastating impact on our seafood communities,,, Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO), in partnership with the Town of Jean Lafitte, announced plans to host “Focus on our Fishermen,” an evening event to provide fishermen and fisheries-related businesses with access to tools and resources that can guide recovery and beyond. Local partners will be available to provide information on recovery assistance, small business financing programs, and more to help our fishing industry come back stronger and more resilient than ever. for more information, >click to read< 18:48
Hurricane Ida: Float the Boat Program offers help to local commercial fishermen
The Helio Foundation, a local community service group that has provided monetary support and other resources for residents down the bayou in Terrebonne Parish, is expanding their efforts with the Float the Boat Program. The program aims to provide monetary assistance for independent commercial fishermen in need of assistance with a boat that was sunk or needs to be moved in Terrebonne Parish due to Hurricane Ida. >click to read< 11:12
‘We take care of each other’ – Volunteers head to Lafitte to help hard hit residents and fishermen
After Hurricane Ida pummeled Lafitte, the fishing town’s fishermen pledge to keep going. The storm destroyed many of their boats, docks and homes. Volunteers distributed 500 meals to the fishing town’s workers and residents. “When someone, a stranger, shows up to lend you a hand, it gives you that little bit of a lift you need emotionally to get back out there to keep fighting and rebuild your life,” >click to read< – Volunteers head to Lafitte to help hard hit residents, and fishermen – Dozens of boats have been damaged or destroyed, and many wonder if the help will arrive before it’s too late. .,, While the food should help fuel recovery workers, homeowners, and shrimpers still have big needs “I lost my house, my boat, crab traps, I lost everything,” said crabber Nathan Fabre of Lafitte. Video>click to read< 13:10
Hurricane Ida: 50% of this year’s shrimp and oyster harvest may be lost
Fishing communities across Southeast Louisiana are down for the count after Ida. In Lafitte alone, some estimate more than 100 boats are knocked out of commission. “The shrimping community is over probably for the next three years you can’t sell shrimp in Grand Isle or Lafitte,” said Ray Champagne of Lafitte. It’s not just the boats, docks have also been wiped out, many still don’t have power, and the state’s one-billion-dollar seafood industry may lose half its production this year. “It’s going to be down at least 50% and that’s my rough guess right now,” said Patrick Banks, with La. Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries. Not only did Ida deal a blow to the shrimp industry but oystermen have taken it on the chin as well. video, >click to read< 08:53
Hurricane Ida: Hard-hit fisheries deserve a helping hand from Washington
Hurricane Ida was among the most powerful storms ever to make landfall in Louisiana, and certainly the most destructive to take direct aim at one of the state’s key resources: its fisheries. Some fishers spent harrowing hours riding out the storm on their boats, but the nightmare didn’t end when the winds died finally down. Ida obliterated property, including boats that fishers couldn’t afford to insure, and it decimated the habitat and the infrastructure that supports the industry. >click to read< 07:46
Louisiana: Young fishermen face uncertain future after Hurricane Ida
Devin Verdin kept his boat tied near one of the camps along Bayou Grand Caillou during Hurricane Ida. Despite the widespread destruction, Verdin remains certain he’ll remain a shrimper. Along with Evan Solet and Elise Garibotte, Verdin was heading up to David Chauvin’s Seafood Company to gather ice as they prepared to go shrimping Tuesday night. The company is one of few in Dulac able to operate since Ida hit Aug. 29. Seth Billiot said he has tried to apply for help from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration but was told he doesn’t qualify. >Click to read< 08:16
After Hurricane Ida: Louisiana’s struggling seafood industry is teetering
The Category 4 hurricane that struck Louisiana late last month fractured some parts of the industry even worse than 2005’s Katrina, which cost seafood businesses more than $1 billion. No one yet knows how many boats, docks and processors were lost because of Ida’s relentless, 150-mph winds. Vessels that made it to the safest harbors fared the best, yet even some of them were destroyed by the storm’s fury. Unable to speak for a decade since cancer surgery, Dale Williams gets by on disability payments of $1,300 a month. Living in a mobile home at Port Sulphur on the west bank of the Mississippi River, he supplements his income by catching shrimp with a little boat he parked in his front yard for Hurricane Ida. Ida’s Category 4 winds flipped Williams’ trawler on its side, bending the frame and tearing nets,,, The goal is to get back on the water by October, he said, either with the damaged boat or another one that fared better. >click to read< 10:44
Hurricane Ida: Commercial fishers in Louisiana – “That’s our living. I have nothing to fall back on,,,
“I was just trying to save every little thing I could and ended up losing it anyway,” Darrel Domangue said. “It’s hard to leave when you got nothing else. I know other people will say it’s just material things, but to us poor people, the material things is all we got besides one another. That’s our living.” Domangue didn’t have insurance on his home, boat or bait shop. “I have nothing to fall back on, and I have no education,”,, “I don’t think a minimum wage job is going to help me rebuild my house. I’m going to have to find some way, some how. photos, >click to read< 07:11
Hurricane Ida: In this bayou town, Louisiana fishers team to feed neighbors in need
Milton Naquin would otherwise be running his shrimp boat out of Delcambre with white shrimp season in full swing. But instead last Thursday he and his family and a crew from his Jessica Gail Seafood company rolled into Montegut with a long, covered trailer rigged up to cook huge batches of jambalaya and alligator sauce piquant. Word spread quickly around the small bayou town and soon people were pulling up for a free, hot meal. “I like to cook, cuss, drink and tell lies,” Naquin proclaimed, while doing at least two of those things. photos, >click to read< 19:26
Turtle excluders
A federal court in Louisiana granted Attorney General Jeff Landry’s request to preliminarily enjoin implementation of a National Marine Fisheries Service’s rule requiring “Turtle Excluder Devices” on certain skimmer trawl boats operating in inshore waters. Landry’s office called it a “major win” for shrimpers, which were having difficulty complying with the rule due to pandemic-related supply chain issues. >click to read the order< 16:55
Hurricane Ida: Dozens of Groundings and Sinkings Block Louisiana’s Inland Waterways
Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard released an update on the full extent of the impact of Hurricane Ida in the vicinity of Bayou Lafourche, the working waterway that leads inland from Port Fourchon. The area was right in the path of the hurricane’s eye, and while Port Fourchon has reopened, navigation remains closed on Bayou Lafourche because of dozens of sunken and grounded vessels.,, So far, 25 vessels requiring salvage and removal – fishing vessels, crew boats and OSVs – have been found in the Bayou Lafourche channel. 30 more submerged targets have been identified in the Houma Navigation Canal, including 15 that have recently been cleared or removed. photos, >click to read< 09:51
Hurricane Ida: Shrimper Norman Bouisse survives 13 hours on capsized boat. Grant Bundy came to get him.
As a shrimper, he’s called Lafitte home for seven decades. “To me, it’s the best place,” he said. He thought he’d seen it all. “This is the worst. This is the worst,” he said while looking at what Ida left behind. Bouisse planned to ride out the storm with a friend in Lafitte. He thought he had time to check on his boat in Bayou Barataria, but Ida was too quick and too strong. “I was on my boat and my boat broke loose and rolled over,” he said. “I spent almost 13 hours laying on the boat and the next morning my friend came and rescued me.” His friend’s name is Grant Bundy. Video, >click to read< 08:14
Commercial fisherman rides out Hurricane Ida in his boat before 140 mph winds flipped it
Kimothy Guy, 57, is one the few people who did not evacuate from the coastal shrimping, crabbing and fishing community ahead of Ida’s arrival Aug. 29. He and three others in the immediate vicinity rode out the storm on their fishing boats in an attempt to save their livelihoods. Instead, the commercial fishers barely lived to tell the tale, as their boats snapped free from the ropes tying them to the shore and flipped over during the Category 4 hurricane. “We had four of us, me and three others, that had stayed to try to save our boats, but we didn’t save none of them,” Guy said, 
noting that if he knew then what he does now, he would have evacuated. “Now I know we don’t have nothing to stay for. We don’t have no more house. We don’t have no more boat.” “I ain’t got no choice. I have to stay,” Guy said. “That’s all I ever did all my life, commercial fish. That’s what I do for a living. I’m a water person. I need the water to survive.” photos, >click to read< 17:13
Southern Louisiana bayou fishing community left tattered by Hurricane Ida
Chad Portier of Faith Family Shrimp, a fishing operation in Chauvin, La., stands inside his 80-foot-trawler, the F/V Jenson Joseph, where he and seven family members and neighbors rode out Hurricane Ida. The wind damage of Hurricane Ida has left small fishing vessels scattered and destroyed along Bayou Little Caillou in Chauvin, La. With the scattered debris, sunken ships and damaged lock systems along the coast in southern Louisiana, locals fear it could be months before the fishing industry can make a full comeback. 11 photos, >click to read< 07:29
Boats Become Homes after Hurricane Ida
Shrimp boats that line the bayou are damaged but still afloat after Hurricane Ida. “Oh, we have Lowrance, plotters, GPS…”, says Carey Chauvin. The major hurricane force winds completely destroyed homes in bayou towns like Chauvin. Now residents are forced to seek shelter elsewhere until they are able to rebuild. Growing up we endured every storm on this boat. Named after my mom, the F/V Lady Melissa. Photos, Video >click to watch< 18:49
Hurricane Ida: Coast Guard Probing 350 Reports of Oil Spills in the Gulf of Mexico
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday said it was probing nearly 350 reports of oil spills in and along the U.S. Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Hurricane Ida’s 150 mile per hour winds wreaked havoc on offshore oil production platforms and onshore oil and gas processing plants. About 88% of the region’s offshore oil production remains shut and more than 100 platforms unoccupied after the storm made landfall Aug. 29. The Coast Guard has been conducting flyovers,,, Flights on Sunday found evidence of a new leak from an offshore well and reported another leak responsible for a miles-long streak of oil was no longer active. >click to read< The U.S. Coast Guard is working with Houston-based oil company Talos Energy to respond to a large spill off the coast of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. >click to read< 10:04
Hurricane Ida: Leaves Toxic Chemicals, Oil Spills, And Sewage Swirling In Her Wake
Days after the storm swept through the region, the environmental aftermath is emerging in a petrochemical corridor packed with hazardous-chemical plants and refineries. In some areas, the chemicals are mixing with raw sewage released from treatment plants that lost power.,, Nearly 100 spills and other episodes have been reported to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality as of Thursday afternoon, raising concerns among environmentalists and public health officials about toxic discharges. >click to read< 10:47
Video: Coast Guard medevacs shark attack victim with partially amputated leg, overboard from commercial fishing vessel
The Coast Guard medevaced an injured crew member from a fishing vessel after a shark attack approximately 35 miles southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, Friday. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a call at 12:51 a.m. via VHF-FM channel 16 from personnel aboard the fishing vessel F/V Moon Glow stating a 64-year-old male crew member had been attacked by a shark and sustained a severe leg injury. The man had reportedly been untangling fishing nets from the vessel’s propeller when he fell overboard and was bitten by a shark of an unknown size and species. Crew members aboard the Moon Glow applied a tourniquet to the man’s partially amputated leg and radioed for help. photos, >click for video< 17:19
