Area fishermen look to BP to keep paycheck coming in

As temperatures begin to rise and summer draws nearer, Lafourche Parish charter fishermen like Ed Pitre of Cajun Made Charters are typically gearing up for a summer offshore in the Gulf.

Pitre will still spend the season offshore, but he won’t be looking for fish.

Instead, he’ll be looking for oil.

After the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, many fishermen are looking to find a new source of income after presumably losing their season and their main source of income in 2010.

“Looks like chartering is going to be shut down, so we have to do something,” he said.

Pitre said he is one of about five Lafourche Parish fishermen who have already begun contract work for BP as a way to salvage income.

“We’re going to be some spotters,” he said. “We’re going to run out there and see where the oil is at. They’re going to call in the coordinates then send out clean up boats and wrap it with booms.”

Pitre said his contract pays $1,500 a day, and BP told him it will last for at least two months.

Chris Moran, owner of Cajun Made Charters and Moran’s Marina in Fourchon, approves of Pitre’s contract with BP, and is willing to help the cleanup efforts any way he can.

“We’ve got to switch gears – the whole place,” he said. “We’re changing everything we have planned for the summer.”

Moran will most likely lose revenue this summer due to the oil spill, but rather than point fingers, he feels those in his industry need to salvage what they can by joining the cleanup efforts.

“A lot of [fishermen] are going to be out of work, so they’re glad to do what they can,” he added. “They have to see the writing on the wall that it’s inevitable. You might as well join the cause and not worry about the fishing right now.”

Although the oil spill will cut into his marina’s profits due to the lack of patrons staying in his hotel and the lack of seafood and bait to sell, Moran will attempt to turn that negative into a positive.

“If you gear up to help, it puts fishing second,” he said. “You take the tackle shop and turn it into a meeting room. You fill up the hotel with guys working on this project, which I consider to be pretty high priority. As much as I love to fish, I think it’s more important to be a part of the process of getting this fixed.”

Moran is not sure whether his partnership with cleanup entities will result in a profit or a deficit at the end of the year, but at the very least, it will decrease his deficit tremendously.

“We know what tourism brought, but we don’t know what the activity from this job is going to bring,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to be the same, but I would hope that it is.”

Even though Louisiana fishermen may lose an entire season of seafood catch, Moran does not think the oil spill will kill the industry.

“We’re going to have to be meat and potatoes people for a little while,” said Moran. “I know how resilient people down here on the coast are. They’ve been through a lot, and they’re able to take a lot. We’ll bounce back.”

As Vice President of the Louisiana Charter Boat Association, Moran urges Louisiana charter fishermen affected by the oil spill to get involved rather than sit idly by.

“My advice to charter fishermen: go to the BP Web site, get their number and help as much as you can,” he said. “You’ve got to roll your sleeves up, put your boots on and help.”

Fishermen wishing to help are encouraged send their boat’s name, dimensions, length, draft, horsepower and any other pertinent information to program Managing Coordinator Vince Mitchell at vince.mitchell@lamor.com and BP Coordinator Grant Johnson at grant.johnson@bp.com.

Chris Moran sits on his boat docked at Moran’s Marina last week. His vessels may not be idle for long as he has pledged his support to the oil cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. * Photo by RICHARD FISCHER