Gulf Coast Plea: 'Keep Buying Our Louisiana Seafood'

Like concentric waves from the splash of a thrown stone, economic damage from the BP oil spill continues to radiate ever-further outward.

South Louisiana's seafood industry bore the initial brunt of this ongoing disaster, but now that impact has reached a second beachhead of service businesses and suppliers. In the small town of Dulac, for instance, some 80 miles southwest of New Orleans, revenue is way down at the Huey Ice Co.

"Usually at this time of year," owner Marty Theriot said, "I make and sell about 300 blocks of ice per day. Those blocks weigh 300 pounds each, so we're looking at 90,000 pounds. Now I might sell 20,000 pounds per day."

Theriot's regular customers, he explains, are the fishermen and shrimpers who normally would buy his ice to keep their catch from spoiling. Theriot also sold them fuel for their boats. "But now most of those guys are using their boats to do clean-up work for BP, and BP isn't buying anything from me," Theriot said. "No ice, no fuel, nothing."

Theriot's business is a small, family-run concern; its namesake, Huey, is his father-in-law. "I have two full-time employees, and two guys who work during our busy summer season," Theriot said. "Without the spill I'd be open seven days a week, and making ice 24 hours a day. But I had to lay off my two summer guys, and cut back to six days. And I may have to cut back more than that."

Such cuts are felt quickly among Dulac's approximately 2,500 residents, who live alongside Bayou Grand Caillou. Their ancestry is mostly "French, and Cajun," Theriot explained, differentiating between emigres from France proper and the erstwhile French colony of Acadie in present-day Nova Scotia. There is also a longstanding community of French-speaking Native Americans. The common bond among residents is a deep connection with nature, based on spiritual and practical levels alike.

"Where else can you step right outside your door and catch anything you want to eat?," Theriot asked. "Ducks, fish, seafood, you name it. This is the land we love, and we want to keep our way of life. BP gave me a check for $5,000, but that only covered a couple of days of my expenses. I think they're going to try and get out of this as cheaply as possible. They'll probably declare bankruptcy. We can't count on them.

"Some folks around here are getting very depressed. They don't say anything, but they get very quiet and you can tell that they have a lot on their minds. If people around the country really want to help us," Theriot concluded, "the best thing they can do is keep buying our Louisiana seafood."

These sentiments receive a hearty "amen" from Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. "We're fighting two big misconceptions," Smith pointed out. "First, people think that we're out of business, with no seafood available; that's not the case. Second, they think our seafood is contaminated. The irony there is that, right now, Louisiana seafood is more carefully scrutinized than any other food in the whole country."

Smith went on to explain that, out of thousands of miles of Louisiana's jagged coastline, only 189 miles have been impacted by oil. "Seventy percent of our shoreline is still open," he said, "and almost all the closings of fishing grounds are precautionary. But lots of the fishermen are working for BP and leaving the seafood unharvested. That's a double-edged sword for us. Obviously the cleanup is important, but production is low, which raises prices. A little price increase is good for the fishermen, but if that goes too high then the seafood processors stop buying."

BP's mass hiring of commercial fishermen contributed significantly to the lack of product that led to the hiatus of AmeriPure Oysters of Franklin, Louisiana. Among the spiraling results of that decision, with its attendant layoff of 40 employees, is Wednesday's announcement that the Red Lobster restaurant chain has stopped serving oysters. AmeriPure was Red Lobster's sole supplier.

"Louisiana oysters are safe," Smith said, clearly frustrated, "but production of them is down 75 percent. Shrimp production is down two-thirds." Crabs are at 60 percent, Smith continued, as are small-fin fish. Deep-sea fish, such as amberjack and tuna, are at full-capacity production. So are freshwater species -- catfish, crawfish and alligator.

"Right now," Smith said, "we are in crisis communication mode, defending the brand. BP gave us $2 million to help with that. We have hired professional journalists with national news experience to write articles for our website www.louisianaseafoodnews.com/ and generate media coverage. The national media has been very helpful. Anderson Cooper, for one, on CNN, has really championed this area and our industry."

Once the leak is plugged, Smith said, the Louisiana seafood industry will transition into rebuilding the brand. The cost is anticipated at $30 million to $50 million, and Smith hopes that BP will provide further assistance. Meanwhile, he said, "I can't overstate how important it is for President Obama to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling. Those rigs will leave the gulf and take 50,000 jobs with them, not counting service jobs. Our fishing communities will become ghost towns. It will devastate us. We've already had one major tragedy with the loss of life in the explosion and then the spill. Now we're looking at another one."

"Of course we want safe drilling," Smith concluded. "But when a plane crashes, does the government shut down the entire airline industry? Of course not. I believe that the president sincerely wants to help the people here, but he is being given very bad advice."