Preston Dore is used to riding out the hurricanes that have blown through his town of Delcambre, La., about 100 miles west of New Orleans. For the last 40 years, he and the boat have always walked away, relatively unscathed. Hurricane Ida was different.
Unlike other storms, Dore had to ride this one out shoreside. His new boat, the Demi Rae, was up on blocks at the Gulfbound Shipyard in Chauvin, La., in the final stages of a five-year building process.
Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, La., on Aug. 29, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. When the storm hit at near-category 5 strength, most local fishermen had done what they could do to prepare in a hurry. The storm had gathered strength quickly as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico, and the surge sent the hurricane ripping through coastal areas with winds gusting up to 172 miles per hour, devastating the town of Grand Isle, south of New Orleans, and taking out critical infrastructure across the region.
“Every time we have something like this happen, we lose a significant part of the state’s seafood fleet,” said Julie Falgout, Louisiana Sea Grant agent. “Fishermen either can’t or don’t want to go back to the water. Docks and processors face similar issues. I know of one dock that will not rebuild after being completely destroyed.”
The region’s fishermen and seafood industry are seeking all options for help to get back up and running.
Oyster farmers on Grand Isle lost their entire crop. Processing facilities from Grand Isle to Dulac lay in ruin, and almost 30 percent of the shrimping fleet in Golden Meadow was incapacitated at the start of the fall shrimp season.
Read more:
https://www.nationalfisherman.com/gulf-south-atlantic/-pray-for-a-miracle-gulf-coast-still-in-recovery-mode-after-ida