August 26, 2019 — Fishermen in South Louisiana have a warning for the Mississippi Coast: If you think the Bonnet Carré Spillway has wreaked havoc in the Mississippi Sound, just wait until Louisiana gets permission for a new diversion of Mississippi River water.
The fishermen in St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes say they have watched saltwater marshes, shrimp, oysters and fish disappear over the last decade because of Mississippi River diversions that flow continuously into the Breton Sound estuary.
They have been trying to fight the state of Louisiana’s plan for new river diversions that would flow into the Barataria Bay and Breton Sound estuaries south of New Orleans. The state is forging ahead with plans, claiming the diversions will build land along Louisiana’s coast, where wetlands the size of a football field sink into the water every 100 minutes.