Cap doesn’t slow oil woes for businesses, fishermen

A shrimper for 30 years wonders how he will continue to support his family.

With fewer boats being launched, a marina owner sees an 80 percent decrease in revenue. A worker at a crab dock in Montegut says, “You don’t want to talk to me. I’ve got nothing but curse words to say about BP.” Surviving in the southern reaches of Terrebonne Parish in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent spill is challenging – to put it very mildly.

At The Poor Dock in Lower Dularge, crabber Charles Russ is used to packing boxes with crabs and shipping them across the nation. But national perception has shifted in the wake of the spill. Many believe Louisiana seafood may not be safe; Russ is having trouble finding buyers. “They’re spooked out,” he said. “When they think of Louisiana, the first thing that comes to mind is that the crabs are no good. [Northerners] have to understand the [Department of] Wildlife and Fisheries are going out everyday and making sure the water is safe, but they don’t know that.”

It hardly matters, though. With many of his favorite crabbing areas closed, Russ wouldn’t be able to satisfy his normal amount of suppliers anyway.

“At this time last year, we were probably filling 150 boxes every day,” the crabber said. “We’re limited on fishing because three-quarters of our areas are closed right now. A good day for us now is 30 or 40 boxes, so you’re looking at a 110 box drop per day.”

And this deduction in revenue is keeping Russ and his dock barely above water for the time being. But he worries The Poor Dock can’t survive selling so few boxes.

“It’s hurting my pocketbook. We’re not making it like we should be – not even close,” Russ said. “Our livelihood is based year-to-year. If we drop off drastically with our income, then you have bills you can’t pay.”

The Poor Dock received a $5,000 check from BP, but because this is not nearly what it would normally make, Russ is attempting to work with BP to receive a greater monthly sum.

“Hopefully, they’ll take care of us until we can fully go back to work, because we need to work,” he said. “I guess I’ll leave it in God’s hands and hope for the best.”

The idea of changing professions is devastating to the 13-year crabber, but impossible to 30-year shrimper John Smith.

Captain of the trawl boat the Capt. Toby, Smith said his fishing areas have been closed for a month.

“I’ve been doing nothing since then – just sitting at home all the time. We can’t do nothing,” he said. “We hope they open it up, but if they don’t, then we really don’t know what we’re going to do.”

With his boat sitting in Bayou Grand Calliou, Smith filed a claim with BP, which was denied.

“I don’t know why. I’m trying to figure it out,” he said.

And without money coming in, Smith worries how he will support his family of three.

“It’s real bad. It’s torn us all up around here. It’s worse than a storm,” he said.

Although Smith has not applied for BP’s Vessels of Opportunity program, the work program has helped keep Donnie Theriot, owner of Bayouside Marine in Chauvin, in business.

Theriot repairs outboard engines, a necessary service, whether boats are catching fish or scooping up oil.

“I never slowed down, but it doesn’t take much to keep me going,” said Theriot. “Last year, I had 23 boats waiting for me to fix. This year it’s about five. By the time that’s finished, I’ll have some more.”

He said he isn’t worried for the future, even though BP can pull its Vessels of Opportunity program at any time.

“I haven’t felt it yet,” Theriot said of the work slowdown many around him are experiencing. “But I don’t know what’s going to happen once BP is done and if the charter boats don’t go back to work.”

Further down the road toward Cocodrie, Sportsman’s Paradise Motel, Restaurant and Charter Fishing credits BP’s presence for its survival.

“We were fortunate where BP came in the motels and ate our food in the restaurant,” said employee Bryan Clemmons. “We’ve got a contract with BP, so it’s really helped – like every cloud has a silver lining.”

Clemmons said Sportsman’s Paradise is making more than it would make under normal circumstances, and some of the fishermen who lease slips from the marina are in turn leasing them to BP.

And while Sportsman’s Paradise is benefiting from BP, across the bays in Lower Dularge, Wesley Vail has had to go to different measures to attract patrons back to his Jug’s Seafood Restaurant.

Vail’s boats have been working the fishing areas in his vicinity – about 40 percent of which are open. He’s increased advertising to spread the word Jug’s is open for business.

“It picked up a little bit in the restaurant. That’s because we’ve got all-you-can-eat crabs for $12.99, and they’re $40 a bushel,” Vail said.

But even with the newfound business since the spill, if the trend continues, Vail predicts he’ll be in a hole financially before the year’s end. And a 65 percent drop in boat launching business behind his restaurant in Bayou Dularge isn’t helping.

At the opposite end of Terrebonne Parish, Isle de Jean Charles Marina owner Theo Chaisson said boaters seeking launch sites have been few and far between much of the summer.

“People aren’t going fishing and all the areas were closed for the fishing. If there’s no fishing, there’s no revenue for me,” he said. “We lost 80 percent of our revenue, and without fishermen, you aren’t selling nothing (sic). You may sell a beer here or a pack of cigarettes there, but my revenue comes from that boat launch.”

With State Wildlife and Fisheries recently reopening waters around the island, Chaisson said business is picking up, but it’s nothing compared to what it used to be.

“[Last year, we had] about 25 to 30 [boat launches] on a weekday and about 50 to 70 on a weekend,” said Chaisson. “Saturday, we had a little crowd. We had 23, but that’s nothing compared to any Saturday we had before. Sunday we had two.”

Lack of tourists isn’t just a problem in lesser-known Isle de Jean Charles. Even the world-renown fishing village of Cocodrie can’t seem to attract tourists this summer.

Making matters worse, Jody Martin, owner of 1921 Seafood in Houma, expanded his restaurant to Cocodrie and planned to open it the weekend of the annual Oilman’s Fishing Rodeo.

Unfortunately, it was one of many fishing rodeos cancelled because of the oil spill.

“It brings close to 10,000 people down here, and that’s your big bang to start the summer. We lost all that,” said Martin. “It’s a huge economic impact down here.”

Luckily for Martin, BP’s presence in Cocodrie has kept 1921 Seafood on the Bayou open, but he was forced to close the original restaurant on Barrow Street because he couldn’t acquire seafood.

“Shrimp is about the only thing that’s available as far as local product, so we’re doing as much shrimp as we can. The rest, I’m doing more steaks, hamburgers and meat products to keep us going to survive,” said Martin. “We’re still getting a lot of people, but a lot of these people are from out of town. They’re not locals, so they’re not used to that much seafood items, so that helps.”

Martin has filed a claim through BP, but he said he has not received payment yet.

To the northwest in Theriot, Tommy’s two Stop-N-Go shops continue to provide the community with a closer option for groceries, but its bait and tackle sales have decreased slightly.

“We have our days. Some days we do well, others we don’t get anybody,” said employee Nancy LeBoeuf.

With both stores sitting above the Falgout Canal, Tommy’s hasn’t felt the full effect of the oil spill that other locally owned stores have.

“We see a decrease but it’s not that bad yet,” said owner Tommy Molaison. “If you went down the other fingers further east where the oil is, you might get a different story, but I’m doing OK for now.”

Samantha Sevin, co-owner of Bait House Seafood in Chauvin, can testify to things being worse further east.

“On a financial level, I’m operating on 10 percent, meaning I’m down 90 percent,” said Sevin. “People aren’t coming. My bulk [of business] comes from tourists, recreational and camp people. They come in for the weekend. The locals are nice to me, but they all shrimp too.”

With a string of camps to the south between Chauvin and Cocodrie, Sevin’s live seafood outlet thrived prior to the spill. But no fishing in the area since late April translates into no tourists this year.

With financial help via BP, Sevin is able to go from opening shop three days a week to four.

“We’re not going to give up,” she said.

Crabber Charles Russ has seen a drastic decline in demand for The Poor Dock’s product. The Lower Dularge store is fighting a new wrinkle: national perception that Louisiana seafood is tainted by BP oil. RICHARD FISCHER