Commerce secretary declares fishery disaster
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U.S. Commerce Secretary M. Carlos Gutierrez on Wednesday declared a fishery resource disaster for the Gulf of Mexico because of damage caused to the industry by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
The disaster announcement authorizes assistance to be granted to fishermen and Small Business Administration loans for eligible fishing businesses.
The damage to the fisheries from Gustav is estimated at $76 million for infrastructure and $58 million in revenue loss, according to a report from LSU AgCenter, Louisiana Sea Grant and the Center for Natural Resource Economics & Policy.
It’s too soon for damage estimates from Hurricane Ike, said Rex Caffey, director of the Center for Natural Resource Economics & Policy. Assessments and other information are still being gathered from damage Ike caused, and that report likely will be completed next week, he said.
The damage estimates will likely continue to grow as more information is gathered, said Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, said.
“The seafood community in Louisiana is a huge industry to us,” he said.
Fishermen stopped work to evacuate before Hurricane Gustav slammed into the Louisiana coast on Sept. 1 and haven’t been able to get back to work since, Smith said.
“A lot of the docks got broken up,” he said. “And we’re still collecting information (on damage).”
Not as many boats were damaged by hurricanes Gustav and Ike as were by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Smith said; however, a lack of electricity for ice production and sketchy boat fuel supplies are preventing fishermen from getting back to work.
Today, Smith and members of his board are traveling to Washington, D.C., to start educating the Louisiana delegation about the damage fishermen suffered from the two hurricanes, he said. The hope is to get financial assistance to the coast soon to start rebuilding some of the fishing infrastructure, he said.
The disaster announcement authorizes assistance to be granted to fishermen and Small Business Administration loans for eligible fishing businesses.
The damage to the fisheries from Gustav is estimated at $76 million for infrastructure and $58 million in revenue loss, according to a report from LSU AgCenter, Louisiana Sea Grant and the Center for Natural Resource Economics & Policy.
It’s too soon for damage estimates from Hurricane Ike, said Rex Caffey, director of the Center for Natural Resource Economics & Policy. Assessments and other information are still being gathered from damage Ike caused, and that report likely will be completed next week, he said.
The damage estimates will likely continue to grow as more information is gathered, said Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, said.
“The seafood community in Louisiana is a huge industry to us,” he said.
Fishermen stopped work to evacuate before Hurricane Gustav slammed into the Louisiana coast on Sept. 1 and haven’t been able to get back to work since, Smith said.
“A lot of the docks got broken up,” he said. “And we’re still collecting information (on damage).”
Not as many boats were damaged by hurricanes Gustav and Ike as were by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Smith said; however, a lack of electricity for ice production and sketchy boat fuel supplies are preventing fishermen from getting back to work.
Today, Smith and members of his board are traveling to Washington, D.C., to start educating the Louisiana delegation about the damage fishermen suffered from the two hurricanes, he said. The hope is to get financial assistance to the coast soon to start rebuilding some of the fishing infrastructure, he said.
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