Hurricanes have pounded the Mississippi Gulf Coast often over the last half-century and most Mississippians know that score by the shorthand of the names: Camille, Katrina, Elena, Georges, Ida, Rita and too many others to remember.
Then there were the environmental disasters – the BP Horizon Oil Spill, other pollution threats, the ongoing nightmare of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, and subsequent salinity concerns in the Mississippi Sound. Sprinkle in some difficult government regulations, the impacts of massive global competition and the aging and shrinking of the Mississippi fleet of fishermen, shrimpers and oystermen (and women in all those categories) and the fishing industry in Mississippi faces catastrophic threats.
Now comes the sobering but expected results of a new study requested by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources from the University of Southern Mississippi School of Ocean Science and Engineering researchers working with the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. Created in 1972, MASGC is one of 34 Sea Grant programs under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Consortium members include Auburn University, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, University of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USM, and University of South Alabama.
The study found that a Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority plan to divert Mississippi River waters into the Breton Sound through the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion would essentially obliterate oyster beds in the Mississippi Sound and in doing so impact the ecological benefits of how oysters help maintain and replenish the western and central Mississippi Sound’s eco-system.
Basically, the plan will result in impacts of the Bonnet Carre Spillway releases becoming more or less permanent with both salinity and the chemical content of the diverted waters ultimately impacting in the Mississippi Sound.
The once robust Mississippi fishing, shrimping and oystering industries have seen catastrophic threats for well over a decade. Efforts have been underway in conjunction with the Mississippi State University Extension Service to address those threats through education, information and research.
Ryan Bradley, executive director of Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, told Extension personnel in recent years of the struggles the non-profit organization of Gulf Coast fishing families face.
“This is a proud industry. We work hard. But it is a high-stress profession, and you have to be a thick-skinned person to do this job,” said Bradley, who is a fifth-generation commercial fisherman. “There is a lot of uncertainty in this industry right now and few coping mechanisms when it comes to dealing with the stress. We had over 2,000 shrimp boats 12 years ago; now, we have less than 200. It’s such a volatile business now, that commercial fishermen are encouraging their children not to go into the business.”
The Mississippi seafood industry creates nearly 5,000 jobs and contributes around $250 million to the state’s economy. But Katrina knocked out about half the Mississippi shrimping fleet and oyster harvesting has been severely hampered by storms, the BP oil spill and Bonne Carre freshwater intrusions impacting salinity in the oyster beds and reefs in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
An MSU Films documentary series “The Hungriest State” (www.msufilms.edu/the-
The dangers aren’t all environmental. Much of it is market-driven as foreign competitors supply well over 92 percent of the shrimp consumed in the U.S. NOAA estimates that between 70 and 85 percent of all seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported.
Aquaculture is an important commodity for the state. Mississippi’s aquaculture has risen back to the top, ranking first in the U.S. with some 54 percent of all U.S. catfish produced in the state.
But at this juncture, the Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion is the next in a series of dominoes to fall that ratchets up the treats to Mississippi and U.S. seafood production and the delicate eco-system balance in the Gulf.
21 comments:
One factor they did not include is the amount of raw sewage that jackson is responsible for releasing into the Pearl which goes into the Gulf. The faster we bring that topic to the discussion and address it the better. Millions of gallons of sewage. Let that sink in. In the early 1900’s the MS Gulf Coast was the largest seafood producer in the world.
I buy wild caught shrimp from Rouse's in Gulf Shores AL, and farm raised in Kroger groceries in Jackson and Ridgeland. Price and quality have been dependable and stable.
Do Louisiana and/or MS grow farm raised shrimp?
This is demonstrably false article regarding the Mid Breton Diversion. There is no way water from the Mississippi river could reach state lines of Mississippi. The Breton Sound is enormous and full of water and ridges that would impede any fresh water from reaching and impacting Mississippi. Do better reporting and stop taking the bait of the lying/manipulative fishing industry.
Sounds like he left out Hurricane Lumumba/Jackson with the huge shit Tsunami.
Biden-
With the shrimp industry (& other industry) effectively destroyed by imports (foreign competitors supply well over 92 percent of the shrimp consumed in the U.S.) the pressure on shrimp population on the coast should be lessen. Therefore, the shrimp population should rebound. I'm a fan of keeping jobs in the U.S. and we should put a tariff on imports which can be used to improve the US shrimp industry.
But foreign lobbyist in the US Capitol is padding the palms of Nancy Pelosi, Bennie Thompson, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and others and also all of their friends.
"There is no way water from the Mississippi river could reach state lines of Mississippi. "
Uh, the Mississippi River IS one of the state lines of Mississippi.
Moron.
8:46, the proposed diversions are one on the east side of the river(Mid Breton), and one on the West(Mid Barataria). The one on the East side of the river could very well threaten Mississippi's coast including the Chandeleurs and Biloxi Marsh(technically in LA, but due south of Bay St. Louis. The amount of impact is determined by winds and tides. When the river is up out of Venice, and you have a SW wind, the salinity is affected even up into Mississippi. Now back the outflow up to the Reggio/Delacroix area and it will impact it more.
@8:16 I'm surprised some enterprising plaintiffs' lawyer hasn't womped up a class action composed of landowners along the Pearl South of Jackson.
@8:16 I am surprised that some enterprising plaintiffs' lawyer hasn't cooked up a class action by landowners along the Pearl south of Jackson.
So it’s A OK for protectionism for shrimp and oysters against Asia and our enemies but free markets to sell US taxpayer subsidized beans and chicken to Russia and China? Ah to double subsidize corn and force US drivers to use ethanol? And the double standards as always. Of course we can also, after getting subsidies or tariffs, criticize that same very generous Gubmint. Par for the course.
Shrimp Farming aquaculture is an enormously successful industry across the world, some grown in outdoor ponds, some indoors in tanks. Shrimp and Tilapia can be grown together. I enjoy catfish but let's grow shrimp in MS also!
Who cares what happens in Mississippi, it contributes nothing. Louisana has oil refining plants, pretty women, mardi gras, tourism and pretty women.
Check the country of origin on the box of 'farm raised' shrimp you buy at Kroger. Or, for that matter, on any package of tilapia, which simply means 'fish' in multiple languages.
Sid can probably remember, decades ago, when the oysters the rich folks dined on at his Neshoba cabin came from the Mississippi Coast.
Mornin', Mr Salter. Not much in the ol' mailbag today. Looks like just a circular from the shrimp lobby. Mebbe sumpin' better'll come along tomorrow.
You’re going to just ignore the plight of recreational fishermen, charter fishermen, and pleasure boaters Sid? Recreational fishing contributes far more. A pound of fish in the hands of a rec fisherman is far more valuable than a commercially caught fish. Boat manufacturers, boat dealers, tackle shops, bait shops fuel docks, etc. Look at how robust tourism and recreational fishing is in say OBA compared to the MGC. The shrimping lobby does everything it can to kill everyone else off. The commercial lobby is a bunch of Killem cowboys. The pogey fleet is the worst. The Bradley guy is a crackhead clown who is clearly being fed a script from someone smarter than him. The disaster that will unfold is about far more than an already declining seasonal industry full of part time jobs. Fully support the Barataria diversion, I was in a duck lease down there, the salt water intrusion and resulting land loss is shocking. They need the freshwater and the sediment.
I will proudly eat farm raised shrimp, whether it be produced domestically or overseas, if the shrimp lobby continues to block the placement of artificial reefs and the removal below the mudline of oil rigs. The systematic destruction of the greatest artificial reef complex the world has ever , complete with mature well developed coral attached to the rigs, is one of the greatest ecological disasters to ever happen in our country, and the greenies cheer it on.
Hey, 5:45. The "shrimp lobby"? I come from a shrimping family (Pascagoula) and my father spent years trying to get the shrimpers to organize to present a united front in Jackson. It never happened! Getting shrimpers to act in concert make herding cats look easy. There ain't no damn "shrimp lobby"! The casinos put the value of waterfront property so high in Biloxi that the shrimpers got squeezed out. And I'm ashamed to say that Pascagoula never stepped up and provided the dock space, the ice houses, the fueling centers to attract the displaced shrimpers, so they went to Bayou La Batre. Ride over there sometime and you'll see where the shrimpers went. And as to the Bonne Carre Spillway, hell yes it affects the Mississippi Coast. I live on a bayou in Pascagoula. When that fresh water came pouring in, the first thing I noticed was that the cranes and pelicans and herring disappeared overnight. The food chain was shot to hell. And my neighbor on the bayou who processes crabs didn't have any crabs to process. It's a damn serious problem, and unless y'all want your shrimp coming out of some Vietnamese sewer, you'd better start fighting back against the Corps of Engineers trying to overrule the natural processes of the Mississippi river.
@12:31: It’s a fact that Gollott single-handedly used his power to prevent more artificial reefs coming to Mississippi. Look at the artificial reef complexes in OBA and the panhandle versus here. That’s why. He was single handedly why. Apparently reefs the size of a pickup truck present an insurmountable obstacle to fishing in a Gulf that’s a few million square miles big. Apparently oil rigs that support unbelievable marine life that have the footprint of a house do the same. Even the larger rigs with multiple rigs strung together like the Triple Rig south of your hometown have a footprint of maybe 2-5 acres. With modern electronics and knowledge, these structures in no way impede navigation or shrimping. If you feel like they do you have no business being on the water. The shrimp lobby wants nothing but flat mud bottom in the entire gulf and they want to kill until they can’t. They are very much responsible for the cutting down and blowing up of rigs and killing millions of fish. Look in the mirror if you want to see a major reason for the decline of your industry. Y’all killed the golden goose.
I’ll whole heartedly agree with you regarding the BCS. The enemy of my enemy is my friend in this circumstance.
To be clear 5:45 you are absolutely right regarding Bonne Carre. But maybe it’s time to look in the mirror and evaluate the destructive practices and thought processes of the industry as well. We can coexist but it’s never seemed that shrimpers and other comm interests are willing to do what it takes to co exist
(East Palestine chemical spill would also like to enter the chat)
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