Port Arthur Catholic Priest Father Sinclair Oubre (left) says six months after Hurricane Harvey the need for fishermen is still there. He hands out “Helping Hands” work gloves provided by the Gulf Seafood Foundation to Vietnamese fishermen. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
GULF SEAFOOD FOUNDATION
by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor
Father Sinclair Oubre, a Catholic Diocesan priest and Treasurer of the Port Arthur Area Shrimpers Association at the Port Arthur dock. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography.
Almost six months after a Category 4 hurricane named Harvey ravaged the Texas Coast in August of 2017, residents of the Port Arthur area, host to the second largest deep-water shrimping fleet along the Gulf Coast, are still trying to put their shattered lives back together.
Images after Hurricane Harvey hit Port Arthur, a community sitting on the Louisiana line 90 miles east of Houston, showed the East Texas city virtually cut off by rising waters.
Vietnamese Shrimping Community
Port Arthur is home to a large Vietnamese community that decades ago escaped harm’s way in crowded fishing boats to make a better life for in America. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
“Port Arthur is home to a large Vietnamese community that decades ago escaped harm’s way in crowded fishing boats to make a better life for in America. Hurricane Harvey hit the whole community very hard, and in one respect still lingers,” said Father Sinclair Oubre, a Catholic Diocesan priest and Treasurer of the Port Arthur Area Shrimpers Association. “Almost the entire fishing community was affected by the rising water levels that almost completely covered Port Arthur.”
According to U.S. Coast Guard figures there are approximately 120 shrimp boats working in the area and around 35 crab boats that fish in Louisiana and Texas waters and land their catch in Bridge City and Port Arthur. More than 90% of these fishermen are Vietnamese.
When the Vietnamese first arrived the Port Arthur area many were tradesmen, store clerks, farmers, as well as fishermen. Beaumont parish priest Father William Manger and Dow Wynn, then the Director of the Port of Port Arthur, was responsible for the area resettlement that occurred.
Father Oubre, walking the Port Arthur docks, serves as the diocesan director for the Catholic Apostleship of the Sea Ministry which serves seafarers that include fishermen. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
Living on shrimp boats while shoveling debris from ruined homes, a number of the seafaring Vietnamese community has not been able to fish during the current shrimp season because they continue to fix homes destroyed by the storm.
According to Father Oubre, who also serves as the diocesan director for the Catholic Apostleship of the Sea Ministry that serves seafarers including fisherman, as well as cargo ship mariners, their families, cadets and retired mariners, the Port Arthur Area Shrimp Association works tirelessly to help its members stay up to date on fishing issues, as well as keep them informed on issues that will assist them recover from the flood.
“Helping Hands” Work Gloves
“Six months after the storm need is still there, that is why when I learned about the Gulf Seafood Foundation’s “Helping Hands” work glove program I immediately contacted the organization,” said Father Oubre, a certified merchant mariner who worked as a seafarer on ocean going tankers before becoming a priest. “This is a great program. If the fishermen don’t have to pay for something as simple as a pair of work gloves, that money can go to fixing their house.”
Ktleim Nguyen, a former shrimper who has been crabbing for the past four years, shows Father Oubre his catch for the day after being given a pair of gloves. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
Located along one of the busiest port areas along the Gulf Coast providing 16% of the petroleum products produced in the U.S., the pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in Orange, TX regularly drives the 15 miles from church to the Port Arthur International Seafarers’ Center and other maritime and fishing facilities.
After crossing the Rainbow Bridge over the Neches River, Father Oubre stops at a crab dock to distribute a pair of gloves to a fisherman unloading a catch of crab.
“Thank you, thank you very much,” said Ktleim Nguyen, a former shrimper who has been crabbing in the Louisiana waters for the past four years. “May I have another pair for my friend?”
Trey Pearson, General Manager of JBS Packing Company, wears his pair of “Helping Hands” gloves at his desk . Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
Navigating his way through the streets of Port Arthur, past pile after pile of storm damage rubble still waiting patiently to be removed in Vietnamese area of the town, he makes his way toward to port with the bright orange “Helping Hands” gloves piled in the trunk to pass out to the assembled shrimp boats.
Waiting outside the office of Trey Pearson of JBS Packing Company, the only local processor of shrimp, to deliver a pair of gloves, he explains how the gloves are tied to his Apostleship of the Sea mission. “Our mission is advocacy for the seafarer having a hard time connecting with a regular parish because of mobility. Basically if you get wet you become the responsibility of the Apostleship of the Sea,” he explained. ““The organization has been vocal against the abandonment of seafarers and has spoken out against lack of shore leave.”
Carrying large plastic bags filled with bright orange gloves, Father Oubre distributes the gloves to Vietnamese shrimp boats. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
Father Oubre became involved with the Port Arthur area shrimpers when modest modification proposals of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDS) were sponsored by a variety of environmental organizations. Since then he has worked closely with the Coast Guard to updated safety training for shrimpers located along one of the busiest port areas along the Gulf Coast.
The Port Arthur Area Shrimpers Association communicates regulatory changes, advocates on the shrimpers behalf and educates best practices on the handling shrimp. It also offers training to meet updated Coast Guard regulations. “Shrimpers are not required to have extensive mariner training, but they are often find themselves negotiating a narrow channel with 900-foot plus ships with 140’ beams,” explained the priest who has had extensive training in seafaring safety.
Smiles and Thanks
Carrying large plastic bags filled with bright orange gloves, Father Oubre starts the long walk down the port lined with Vietnamese shrimp boat after shrimp boat.
The majority of the Vietnamese fishermen in the area are Catholic, with about 30% being of the Buddhist faith,” he said. “You can tell by the name of the boat which crews are Catholic and which are Buddhist.”
Crews after crew are given the florescent gloves, many being tossed from shore to ship. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
Crews after crew are given the florescent gloves, many being tossed from shore to ship. Smiles and waves of thanks fill the warm Gulf air.
“These gloves are greatly appreciated, even though might be a little large for the Vietnamese hand,” he said. “They are good protection from the salt water and the wear and tear on seafaring hands. This is important not only because of the benefit to the fishermen, but it ties to my mission at the Apostleship of the Sea.”
Father Oubre says many local fishermen are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Those having flood insurance are beginning to fish fulltime. Those not having insurance are either doing their own work using personal resources, or are waiting for FEMA or volunteers to help.
“Six months later I am sorry to say the need is still there,” said the mariner priest. “That is why the Gulf Seafood Foundation’s “Helping Hands” program is so important. If the fishermen don’t have to pay for something as simple as a pair of work gloves, that money can go to fixing their house or feeding their family.”
A Vietnamese fisherman is all smiles as he is ready to get back to work wearing the Gulf Seafood Foundation’s “Helping Hands” work gloves. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
Glove Distribution Information
For More Information on “Helping Hands” Work Glove Distribution contact:
- Jim Gossen – Chairman, Gulf Seafood Foundation – jim@jimgossen.com
- Raz Halili – Prestige Oysters – ruzhdi12@gmail.com
- Ed Lallo – Gulf Seafood News – ed@newsroomink.com
Donate to Gulf Seafood Foundation’s “Helping Hands”
To donate to the Gulf Seafood Foundation’ “Helping Hands” please click the “Donate” button or send a check or money order to: Gulf Seafood Foundation Hurricane Harvey Relief, 2851 Johnston Street, Suite 162, Lafayette, LA 70503.
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