Fishing industries impacted by BP Oil Spill two-years later
Two-years later, experts say the coastline and the wetlands are recovering, and at rates faster than expected. On the other hand, the fishing industry is struggling to get back to where it was in the days before the spill.
Last year proved to be one of the worst years in decades and some say the spill's effects are keeping some boats tied to the docks.
On the optimistic side, the demand is there. The season hasn't even started yet but Cheryl Granger is already getting a lot of orders."That's good, we can sell them at least." Granger said, "we just need to catch them."
On the bad side, she wasn't catching anything this time last year.
"Worst year in twenty-years," she said. "It was a bad year."
So, what caused the worst year in twenty-years? Jimmie Dupre shrimps from Port of Delcambre; he says the shrimp aren't growing."A combination between the oil spill and fresh water." Dupre says, "that's all we can see."
In 2010, BP opened it's compensation fund and placed a whopping $20-billion there to help people like Dupre stay in business. Ask him and he'll tell you what many shrimpers have gone through: the offer was tempting but it would only keep him afloat for another year."In the shrimping industry, $25-thousand could've kept us floating," he said. "But past that, it doesn't look like good."
Two-years later, many shrimpers go uncompensated. Granger says she enjoys her job but each year gets tougher to stay afloat."We still don't know what they owe us," she said. "We're still not payed."
Shrimp season starts next month but according to some, side effects from the spill could last many years.
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