Tag Archives: Montegut fisherman Lance Nacio
Louisiana Shrimpers Are Fighting To Preserve A Historic Gulf Industry
It’s hard to nail down Dino Pertuit. I finally catch the Louisiana seafood legend early in the morning, and we chat while he drives back from a shrimping expedition, the phone call dropping at least three times along the way. His rich Cajun accent and the rumblings of his truck in the background make it hard for me to decipher everything he’s saying. But one sentence stands out crystal clear: “I’m going to do it until I die,” he says of shrimping. And at 57 years old, he’s one of the younger ones who keep it going. A third-generation shrimper, Pertuit has watched as prices for his Gulf catch have stagnated, but the hard work of harvesting it has stayed the same. He says his shrimp commanded about $3.50 a pound in the 1980s and today they still hover around that price—while the costs for everything else, like fuel and boat insurance, have only gone up. His product remains highly coveted; he supplies shrimp to many of New Orleans’ top restaurants, including Herbsaint and Cochon. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:29
Hurricane Ida: A Bad Time on the Bayou
Hurricane Ida struck the heart of Louisiana’s seafood industry as a Category 4 hurricane, wiping out homes, boats, trucks, plants and icehouses…. ‘This is just a bad time to be on the bayou it seems,’ said Venice shrimper Acy Cooper, a member of the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force. ‘Before the storm we were being hit hard by Covid. Covid is still here, but now we have to face the difficulties brought on by Ida,’ he said, adding that he has been fortunate compared to those to the east of him. ‘Here in Venice, we lost three or four shrimp boats, but over in Chauvin and Dulac, it’s more like half that fleet. People have lost their homes, their boats. They don’t have power, gas or food. These are people that aren’t going to ask for anything, but let me tell you they need it, and they need it now.’ Click to read >Pt.1< and >Pt.2< 18:55
