Saving Seafood

Hurricane Ida Devastates Louisiana Seafood Industry, Infrastructure Completely Destroyed

September 2, 2021 — Hurricane Ida has left a path of destruction through Louisiana, and in that path was seafood community after seafood community. As people across southeastern Louisiana began to take in the scale of damage, the task has been severely hindered by widespread power outages and limited phone service.

Ater landing at near-category 5 hurricane strength, Hurricane Ida made landfall with an immense storm surge riveting through coastal areas with winds gusting up to 172 miles per hour.

According to a statement by Louisiana Sea Grant’s Thomas Hymel, “docks in Dulac were heavily damaged, as well as Lafourche and Terrabonne parishes.”

Montegut fisherman Lance Nacio told Gulf Seafood News, fishermen and their families are in need of fuel and water.  “Roads are just clearing. Its bad here, really bad,” he said. “A majority of the boats made it through the storm, but the seafood communities infrastructure and homes have been severely damaged.”

Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News

Louisiana crawfish processor forced to pay USD 140,000 for labor law violations

August 27, 2021 — Crowley, Louisiana, U.S.A.-based Acadia Processors has paid USD 138,629 (EUR 118,000) after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found it owed back wages to 100 employees.

In June 2020, the Center for Migrant Rights filed a whistleblower complaint with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on behalf of two former Acadia Processors workers who tested positive for COVID-19.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

The rise of alternative oyster growing methods in the USA

August 25, 2021 — A new range of off-bottom cultivation techniques, backed by positive reports and state incentives, is beginning to supplement traditional oyster farming methods in Louisiana.

When many people think of oysters they envision a cluster of odd-shaped, rock-like objects, typically growing on some hard surface on or near the seafloor. According to FAO figures, in 1952 global oyster aquaculture production surpassed wild harvests for the first time – with 306,930 and 302,526 tonnes reported, respectively. Aquaculture production has consistently exceeded wild oyster harvests since that time, and in 2019 accounted for 6,125,606 tonnes, compared to 133,984 tonnes of wild-harvested. Traditional culture methods relied (and still rely, in many regions) on natural setting of wild larvae on suitable benthic substrates. But there are other ways to grow oysters, and these techniques can result in significantly greater production volumes.

Off-bottom oyster culture utilises trays, baskets, cages, or hanging lines/ropes mounted on racks or suspended from floats or rafts. This approach allows for more access to natural foods and avoidance of many fouling organisms and predators. Fouling organisms still occur, but one remedy that can be adopted in off-bottom culture involves regular exposure of oysters to the air (weekly or biweekly), in such a way as to inhibit growth and survival of fouling organisms, while oysters close their shells and wait patiently until they are re-submerged.

Read the full story at The Fish Site

LOUISIANA: CARES deadline for fishermen is this week

August 23, 2021 — The application period for CARES relief funds ends next week, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says.

“Just a reminder that the application period for the CARES 2.0 relief funds is open for one more week. LDWF will accept applications through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 29, 2021. A total of $12.4 million is available to Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry who have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualified applicants will receive direct aid payments from Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission,” a post from the agency states.

For more information about the program, and to access the application, go to: www.wlf.la.gov/page/cares-act-assistance.

Read the full story at KATC

Judge to consider injunction on turtle excluder rule for US shrimpers

August 16, 2021 — A federal judge in the U.S. state of Louisiana will hold a hearing on Tuesday, 24 August to determine if an injunction should be issued against NOAA Fisheries that would require the agency to postpone implementing a rule mandating shrimp fishermen install turtle excluder devices on their inshore skimmers.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sought the restraining order after NOAA Fisheries failed to continue a delay on a 2019 final rule that called for the excluder devices. In an announcement on 20 December, 2019, the agency said the final rule would take effect on 1 April 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Louisiana sues feds over ‘devastating’ rule for its shrimpers

August 13, 2021 — Louisiana’s attorney general has sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in New Orleans federal court to stop it from implementing a regulation that obliges certain shrimp fishermen to install devices that keep endangered sea turtles out of their catch.

In a Wednesday complaint, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the rule that took effect on Aug. 1, about a week before the beginning of the state’s shrimping season, will have “devastating consequences” on the fishermen’s already thin profit margins, and has sowed confusion with fishermen unable to find enough suppliers of so-called turtle-excluder devices for their fishing nets because the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the supply chain.

Landry makes claims that the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirements for reasoned decision-making.

NMFS spokesperson Kate Brogan said the agency is reviewing the complaint.

Read the full story at Reuters

Fresh local seafood available at more food banks in the South

August 11, 2021 — The past year was hard for Cy Tandy. He is the director of IONA House, a 34-year-old food pantry in Jackson, Mississippi. The economic downturn caused by the pandemic doubled the number of people who came to the pantry in need of food. But in the tough year, there were bright spots. For the first time, the IONA House was able to give its clients fresh, locally caught shrimp.

“Our clients, they loved it,” Tandy said. “Seafood, that’s part of our culture in South Mississippi and Louisiana.”

The Hattiesburg-based charity Extra Table distributed 13,000 pounds of peeled shrimp to food banks and food pantries across the state. All the shrimp was purchased by Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United with money from Massachusetts organization Catch Together.

Read the full story at The Clarion Ledger

Louisiana fishermen, others in industry can apply for pandemic relief through LDWF

August 10, 2021 — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is now accepting applications for $12.4 million in financial assistance available to Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry who have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applications opened Monday, August 9. Applications can only be submitted online. To access the application, visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/cares-act-assistance.

The application process will be open for a three-week period, according to LDWF. The deadline to submit applications is 11:59 p.m. August 29.

Funding allocation has been structured so that all applications submitted before the deadline will be considered. The funds, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CARES 2.0), will be distributed as direct aid payments by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to those applicants who qualify.

Read the full story at KATC

Jurisdictional question revived in suits over coastal loss

August 6, 2021 — The question of whether lawsuits blaming big oil companies for loss of vulnerable Louisiana coastal wetlands will be tried in state courts, as local parish governments want, or in federal courts, as the oil companies want, has been revived by a federal appeals panel.

Thursday’s ruling at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans was a partial victory for the oil companies and a partial reversal of a decision the same court made a year ago. But a lead attorney for parishes suing the oil companies claimed victory, too, saying the decision effectively means at least 15 of the 42 lawsuits still face state trials — and the remainder could, too, pending more federal court review.

“The decision is in our favor,” lawyer John Carmouche said.

In August 2020, a panel of three 5th Circuit judges upheld federal district judges’ rulings keeping the issue in state court, where coastal parishes’ attorneys want them tried. But the oil companies pressed for reconsideration. Arguments were heard in October, and Judge James Ho, author of the 2020 opinion, wrote Thursday that the district courts should take another look.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

LOUISIANA: $12.4M in COVID-19 relief funds coming from wildlife and fisheries

August 2, 2021 — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will soon begin accepting applications for $12.4 million in financial assistance that will be available to Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry who have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications for these funds will open at 8 a.m. Aug. 9.

Applications can only be submitted online. To access the application, visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/cares-act-assistance.

The application process will be open for a three-week period, according to LDWF. The deadline to submit applications is 11:59 p.m. Aug. Funding allocation has been structured so that all applications submitted before the deadline will be considered. The funds, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CARES 2.0), will be distributed as direct aid payments by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to those applicants who qualify.

“These federal funds are another step in alleviating some of the financial impacts of the pandemic on our state,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards. “While we know these funds are not a cure-all, we are grateful for the relief they will provide to our hardworking fishing community.”

LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet agreed with Edwards. “This is more crucial aid for our fishing community. While it will not totally bail out all of those hard workers, it does provide much-needed financial help to them.”

Read the full story at KTBS