Senior Member 
Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: reelscreamersft@aol.com
Posts: 591
|  Re: Fishing in Louisiana
Pool....... if you have Charlie's AOL email, please send it to me, I need to get in touch with him.
Bull..... No offense taken and the facts are the facts. All we are asking is that the facts be told if this has to be discussed in a negative. With that in mind, some of the facts are....
Commercial fishing..... There are plenty of people hurting. It is a hard indistry that has been punished with cheap imports and rising expenses. That and the fact that many people are underinsured and just have not prepared for something like this to happen. I live in my small world and can only tell you that from what I am seeing, the line in the article that quotes 40% of the boats being demolished, seems high to me. I have not seen that many damaged boats in my area in Terrebonne and Jefferson Parish. I could be wrong here but I have not seen it.
Oysters - Many oyster beds are closed but will be open shortly. The media just does not always tell why they are closed. Oyster beds are monitored closely and are often closed when the water gets 'dirty' . What we need to do is explain 'dirty'. This does not mean that there are dead bodies or human remains rotting in our waters. They are most often closed when the bottom sediments are disturbed and will be reopened as soon as the bottom settles. This article is the first that I have heard that oyster beds will be closed for up to 2 years, the estimates that I have heard from local officials are nowhere near that.
Fish Kills - There have been some fish kills but nothing like what Andrew threw our way. Most of these fish kills have been in the more inland areas that are not effected by tidal flow. Again the main culprit in this is when the bottom gets stirred up. The gunk from the bottom displaces the oxygen and you have a depletion problem. It should be stressed that this is not contaminated water in the way that the media is leading on about.
Shrimp - The shrimping industry has been hit hard by cheap imports and rising fuel cost. Since the storms, there are several problems with the shrimping industry, one being just as important as the other. First, there are no shrimp houses open near the coast right now. This means that there are limited places for the shrimpers to load up with ice, salt and other supplies. Then there is no where for them to return to with their catch. A shrimper that is able to get out right now, must travel to Texas or Florida to sell their catch, this takes the profit out of the trip. Second the ones that can get out in the gulf are finding that there is a lot of trash floating around the gulf. Hard trash such as trees, docks, telephone poles and the like. THis stuff rips nets and makes for very unhappy fisherman. Third, the inland guys will be hit the hardest since we are still having very high tides. When these high tides begin to receed, a lot of the smaller, inland shrimp will migrate out to the Gulf early, serving for much smaller catches. Rest assured that there is NOTHING wrong with the water quality. I can tell you that in the week after Katrina, walking across the damaged bridge to Grand Isle, LA. you could look down in the pass and see massive schools of shrimp in the water and the fish were nailing them.
FISHING - The inside marsh fishing is having mixed success. The 'dirty' water (read: muddy) is making it difficult to consistantly catch trout right now. The high water that I have spoken about above, has made the Redfish catches going through the roof. The redfish are all over the marsh, chasing everything that the highwater is chasing out of the marsh grass. OFFSHORE - The same trash that I spoke about earlier poses a danger for boaters in the form of obsticles but man it has been great for the fishing. You know as well as I do that offshore species love to congregate around anything floating in the water. The rips that are forming are beautiful. The trash that is in the water is making for rip lines that are complimented with large trash lines that are just full of fish. Most of the offshore waters have cleared of sediments and the fishing is great, There are no water guality issues. The fishing has been great and should continue to be. Think about it, the hurricanes have given the fish a much needed break, there has been very little pressure for over a month now. (I might add that it continues the way the darn wind is blowing down here right now.)
Boating access - This is where we are hurting right now. There are a few ramps open in the hurricane effected areas but there are ramps open. In my conversation with marina owners, they have told me that they have learned that there is no way to open a marina and run it while it is in the building process, they will wait until they have completely rebuilt before they open up, most are saying early spring. The ramps that are open are slowly coming back to normal, they are getting shipments of ice, fuel and the like. There will be limited access for a while but if you have the will, there is a way.
Hotel Rooms - This has been one of the problems that we have had. There are rooms open, most have been taken by relief workers and insurance adjusters but as things come back on line and these folks return home, the rooms are coming open and we have places for people to stay.
Water quality - Let's not deminish the fact that there is plenty of 'dirty' (read: contaminated) around the City of New Orleans. But when the amount of water is measured it is about 10% of the volume of Lake Ponchatrain. The water is being pumped into the Lake and whill cause some problems in the immediate area but it will quickly deminish as it hits tidal waters and wave action that will disburse this water.
THis post in no way is intended to dimish the dire straights that some are in. There are people everywhere that are hurting. Keeping this to fishing, there are people that have lost all that they had and well known captains are no working with tree trimming companies and the like to put food on the table.
As the owner and operator of a charter service, I completely lost my base of operation. My place is gone and what was left, a dozer has now taken care of. But I made sure that I evacuated all of my essential fishing equipment and I am open for business from a temporary dock location at Belle Pass Marina in Fourchon. The problem that myself and others are having is the rumors. The old tale of ........... if it bleeds, it leads......... is killing what is left of the business. The media outlets want to grab the shock and awe stories and they spread word around the country that 'the water is bad', fishermen are leaving the business and the industry is busted. What they do not tell is why. The shrimp, fish and all of the seafood that we have come to love, is there and it is still god to eat, you just have to get to them. And what they are not telling you is that some are 'getting to them'.
The word from the commercial industry should be that they need help. Not assistance in the form of handouts but just a fair shake. If the foriegnors can do it better and cheaper, let them do it but do not let them flood our markets because they can do it cheaper without the regulations that our fisherman have to deal with. At the dock, I can purchase 12 count shrimp for $3.00 a pound and less, that's a good deal in my mind.
The word that needs to be spread from the charter industry / recreational fishing industry is that we were hurt but the whole industry is not shut down. The pain that is being felt in this side of the industry is from personal losses, not the resource. What we need right now is positive press, we need to truth to be spread that Louisiana has the same bountiful resource that it has always had, some will need to wait for the bottom sediments to settle but they are there. Our marshes are torn up and now more then ever need attention and to be replenished. What we do not need is half truths that scare off what is left of the customer base that is out there and capable of sustaining our industry.
Again, no offense taken, I just wish the press would tell the whole story, all the time. Let's all hope that it all calms down soon so we can get back to rebuilding people's businesses and the lives.
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