Posted on October 22, 2017
By Holly Duchmann, houmatoday.com
Concerned of how large-scale Mississippi River diversions will affect the coastal communities in south Louisiana, the state’s Shrimp Task Force will send a letter to local politicians and stakeholders recommending dredging instead.
The letter, which will “highlight the vast negative impact the proposed large-scale Mississippi waste-water diversions will have on coastal communities,” will be sent to Gov. John Bel Edwards, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and the Louisiana state and federal delegations.
“We need to push the issue on dredging,” Acy Cooper, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association and chairman for the Shrimp Task Force, said at the group’s meeting today in Houma. “We want to make these dredges start making land and get it done. We want to see where we go with the dredging before we start digging holes in our levees and putting water in our estuaries.”
While scientists and environmentalists contend diversions will help rebuild the state’s lost wetlands, commercial fisherman and shrimp task force members said it could kill the seafood industry.
Louisiana is the nation’s No. 1 supplier of shrimp, blue crab, crawfish and oysters, according to the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. One out of every 70 jobs in Louisiana is related to the seafood industry, which has an economic impact of more than $2.4 billion annually statewide, according to the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.
“The letter should reflect that we support coastal restoration efforts, but we must survive the project for it to be a viable solution,” said George Barisich, member of the task force and president of United Commercial Fishermen’s Association.
Source: houmatoday.com
