Shrimp boats headed to fishing grounds east of the Mississippi River on Thursday after Louisiana opened an early season to bring in as much harvest as possible before oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill washes ashore.
Mike Voisin, who owns Houma-based Motivatit Seafood, said the state’s move will help offset potential losses if oil forces the closure of fishing grounds.
“Maybe before it hits inshore, there can be a week or two of harvest and we’ll get something out,” he said in a telephone interview.
Billions of dollars generated by outdoor sports, commercial fishing and beach tourism along the Gulf of Mexico coast are at risk if crude oil leaking from a damaged well off the coast of Louisiana washes aground.
St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans, hosted a meeting Thursday morning to gather information from local fishers identifying the areas most sensitive to the spill. The parish government is also recruiting fishers to help with any local efforts to protect the coast.
Shrimpers filed suit against BP, saying contamination from the spill has caused and will continue to cause loss of revenue. The suit is seeking class-action status to represent all residents who live in or derive income from the coastal areas of Louisiana and would suffer losses.
Louisiana is the largest seafood producer in the lower 48 states, with annual retail sales of about $1.8 billion, according to state data. Recreational fishing generates about $1 billion in retail sales a year.
Bloomberg News
