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Louisiana shrimp boats have to contend with a lower production in its largest fishery. (Photo: NOAA)
Major US fishery takes a beating after oil spill
UNITED STATES
Thursday, May 13, 2010, 23:10 (GMT + 9)
One of the biggest victims of the huge oil spill slamming Louisiana's economy is the region's largest fishery, which has seen its catch drop 50 per cent at a critical time in the season.
Three weeks into the six-month fishing season, the Gulf of Mexico oil slick has made a "just dreadful" impact on the industry, said Daybrook Fisheries president Gregory Holt. He described his business as the region's "economic generator" as far as fisheries are concerned.
"My heart goes out to these people," he told AFP, referring to his hundreds of employees in southern Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish.
The Empire, Louisiana plant can process some 100 tons (91 tonnes) of menhaden fish every hour, in a global export business that produces fish oil and fish meal sent around the world, from China to Norway.
"We've lost 50 percent of our fishing grounds, and it means we're around 50 percent down in our normal catch," Holt said.
He noted the "extensive" costs of operating in areas still open for fishing, with 20-hour roundtrips now the norm for fishing boats heading west from the mouth of the Mississippi River into the gulf.
Locals are now dreading the growing oil slick could extend to areas west of the river as well, placing an even greater strain on the state's vital marine-based economy.
Last week, Louisiana state officials banned fishing in large expanses of coastal waters for at least 10 days amid fears oil could contaminate the catch.
While a small area has been reopened, the growing slick -- a "nightmare," in Holt's words -- looks set to disrupt business for some time to come.
An estimated 210,000 gallons of crude are spewing each day from a leaking mile-deep (1,500 meters) pipe in the Gulf of Mexico, ruptured by a 20 April explosion that rocked a BP-leased rig before it caught fire and sank, claiming the lives of 11 workers.
The giant slick created by three weeks of unabated gushing has sorely disrupted Louisiana's commercial and recreational fishing industry that usually rakes in USD 2.4 billion a year, impacting fishing communities and related businesses like Daybrook.
Holt praised state officials' "great job" in dealing with the disaster, contrasting the efforts with the "abandonment" the region experienced after Hurricane Katrina tore through the area in 2005.
Critics lambasted former president George W. Bush's administration for its response to the catastrophic storm, which left New Orleans all but completely underwater and utterly destroyed the Daybrook facility.
"We rebuilt it, steadily, and this year was the first year we were right back on track again. Then this happened," Holt said.
Asked about possible price hikes due to the declining production, he said the market was steady for now.
"There's every effort to contain this thing... In the meantime, we're taking it one day at a time, and just trying to keep our spirits up that we'll get through this."
AFP
Related articles:
- 93 pct of Gulf remains open to federal fishing
- Louisiana extends Gulf shrimp due to oil spill
- Fishing ban imposed in oil-affected Gulf of Mexico
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Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA/NMFS
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