Louisiana's commercial fishermen are "disaster veterans," trying to hang on, while the local seafood industry struggles to recuperate from BP's oil spill, according to a recent study commissioned by Greater New Orleans, Inc. The state's fisheries will need two to three years to recover, with oyster beds harmed by the entrance of fresh water expected to take the longest.
Last month, development group GNO, Inc. released part one on fisheries in its segmented "Economic Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill." A second section on the oil-drilling moratorium and a third part on the "Louisiana brand" will be issued shortly. The fisheries analysis was funded by a grant of more than $230,000 from the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, along with money from private sources. Research for the entire study is supported by Chevron — a participant in the GNO, Inc./Chevron Coastal Vitality Project.
Michael Hecht, GNO, Inc. president and CEO, last week said, "we wanted to produce a meaningful study as soon as possible after the spill, using qualitative and quantitative data, to help find ways to mitigate its impact on communities and businesses." He said a lesson from Katrina was not to let too much time elapse before examining key factors needed to allocate resources in the recovery process.
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