Carrie Castille of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture samples a cage-grown oyster in the waters off Grand Isle on Jules Melancon’s boat. Melancon lost everything in Hurricane Ida and probably will not restart his business. The average age of Louisiana commercial fisherman is above 60-years. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography
by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor
The Pentagon Barracks on grounds of the state capitol in Baton Rouge has had a storied history and visited by such notable figures as Zachary Taylor, Lafayette, Robert E. Lee, George Custer and Abraham Lincoln. But at days break on a February 8th it received a visit from members of the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition (LFCRC) hoping to talk with state legislators over a breakfast of shrimp and grits.
LSU Sea Grant, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and members of the recovery coalition crafted a five-page “white paper” on the extreme damage and loss of revenue to the Louisiana seafood industry as a result of four hurricanes during the years of 2020-21. During the breakfast at the apartment of Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, whose office overseas the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, legislators were given copies of the report highlighting how all five sectors of the industry suffered; commercial fishermen, recreation fishing, docks, processors and marinas.
Joseph Bouie Jr., from Louisiana’s 3rd State Senate district representing parts of Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard Paris, listens as Andrew Blanchard of the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition talks about the “white paper” and Acy Cooper, also of the coalition listens. Photo: Gulf Seafood News/Ewell Smith
Republican Robert Mills of Senate District 36 representing Shreveport and Bossier City, told Gulf Seafood News he was amazed to hear of the depth and breath of the destruction from the series of storms. “The supply chain is completely broken from the top to the bottom. The cost of putting that back together is beyond anything we can do on a local or statewide level. The solution is in Washington, D.C. I’m afraid.”
More than $579.9 million is the estimated loss attributed to the four major storms of during the past two years. From August 2020 to August 2021, Louisiana witnessed the landfall of four major hurricanes in a little over twelve months.
On August 27, 2020, Hurricane Laura was the first to make landfall in Cameron Parish with sustained winds of 150 mph and a maximum storm surge of 18 feet above sea level. Hurricane Laura maintained category four strength 40 miles inland, causing major coastal fishing communities and severe damage to the Lake Charles area.
Members of the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition (LFCRC) chatted with state legislators over a breakfast of shrimp and grits at Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser’s apartment at the Pentagon Barracks. Photo: Gulf Seafood New/Ewell Smith
On October 9, a category two storm, Hurricane Delta, made landfall at nearly the exact location, further compounding the damages to the already heavily impacted area. On October 28, Hurricane Zeta made landfall as a category three storm in southeastern Louisiana, causing substantial damage to coastal communities in Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard Parishes.
Ten months later, on August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida came ashore at Port Fourchon in Lafourche Parish as a category four storm with sustained winds of 150mph. Hurricane Ida cut a path 40 miles wide from coastal Louisiana to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and devastated the fishing communities in Lafourche, Terrebonne, and Jefferson Parishes.
Democrat Joseph Bouie Jr., from Louisiana’s 3rd State Senate district representing parts of Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard Parish said, “All three of our parishes are heavily involved in the seafood industry. I have had conversations with both shrimpers and processors. The storm has seriously impacted the industry infrastructure, as well as the capacity of the fishermen to fish.
Major storms have hit Louisiana’s coastal fishing communities in the past, but to experience four major hurricanes in a year is unprecedented. The fishing communities of southwest and southeast Louisiana are vitally important to the state’s commercial fishing sector accounting for 80% of Louisiana’s commercial fishing population and infrastructure.
Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition
Following Hurricane Ida, the Louisiana fishing community came together to form the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition that included commercial, recreational, and charter leaders.
“These storms have crippled our seafood industry. This “white paper” will help state and national legislators understand what is at stake,” said LFCRC chair Harlon Pearce. “An opportunity has been created to rebuild the infrastructure back in a new way to withstand future storms. It is imperative we learn from the past to create a new path forward. To have a supply of generators ready to be dispersed when storms strike, to have a system in place where recovery is swift and sure.”
Harlon Pearce, chair of the LFCRC, talks with State Senator Robert Mills, District 36 representing Shreveport and Bossier City, as Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Assistant Sec. Patrick Banks listens. (Photo: Gulf Seafood News/Ewell Smith)
State Senator Mills said the solution for recovery would be a time consuming. “The number of jobs, the number of families, the supply to the rest of the country is so important that we’ve got to do this. We have to rebuild the seafood from top to bottom. Louisiana cannot afford to sit here crippled like this. We have to get these people back to work.”
Some of the “white paper” highlights of the state’s fishing industry’s value include:
- The total economic value of Louisiana’s commercial and recreational fisheries within the state of Louisiana totaled an estimated $4.0 billion in 2019.
- Louisiana’s commercial fishing landings totaled over $300 million in dockside value in 2019.
- Much of the seafood landed in Louisiana, particularly shrimp, blue crabs and oysters, are shipped to other states for further processing and handling. The economic impact of Louisiana commercial fishing at a national level is larger than the numbers cited above.
- Charter boat operations lead hundreds of thousands of angler trips every year and are an important part of Louisiana’s $3.2 billion recreational fishing economy. These trips earn an estimated $60.6 million in revenue.
- Louisiana’s marinas, located mostly in vulnerable coastal areas, earn an estimated $61.2 million in revenue every year serving commercial fishers, private anglers, and charter boat operations.
- The total business valuation of commercial fishing vessels, seafood dealers and processors, marinas, and charter boat operations combined is an estimated $1.4
“Fishermen have told me they need more help to stay in the business as a result of the impact of the storms,” said State Senator Bouie. “Many are living on their boats, some cannot even move their boats. There is a need for direct payments to the fishermen. We need to relook at how we provide assistance to those in the industry.”
Hurricane Ida completely destroyed Gulf Island Shrimp and Seafood in Dulac. Photo: Thomas Hymel/Louisiana Sea Grant
A processor in State Sen. Bouie district tole him the industry has been so severely impacted the state will most likely lose the ability to process the more than 100 million pounds it annually lands.
“We are currently exporting for processing approximately 70% of the shrimp landed at Louisiana docks,” he said. “What we need is an infrastructure package allows for special funding to get our seafood infrastructure back up and running. I understand in one parish there used to be 20 processing plants, and now there is zero. This has a severe impact on our state to take advantage of our natural resources.”
“This morning’s breakfast was a wonderful beginning to a long process in educating our representatives to the challenges our seafood industry is facing,” said Gulf Seafood Foundation board member Jim Gossen. “We have found that everyone wants to help and it’s encouraging to see such a strong and broad coalition. We thank Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser for providing the venue, as well as the continued support of Samantha Carroll, Director of Louisiana Marketing and Seafood Board, who was instrumental in putting this event together.”
Read White Paper Here
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