ON THE REBOUND
February 9, 2018
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
February 9, 2018
Last week the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission selected its chairman for the coming year, and the result was a home-grown member now living to the east of us.
Robert J. Samanie III, known locally for his family’s Dulac company, Samanie packing says he is honored and humbled to have the faith of his fellow commissioners, and that he will do his best to be faithful to all of the responsibilities thus incurred.
Everyone here knows him as Bobby, and he has long been one of my great teachers as regards the shrimp industry. The commission deals with a lot more than just shrimp, of course, but if you ever do get a chance to discuss the little critters with this man, his passion for the industry will become evident within seconds
He was born into the industry, the son of Dulac shrimp baron Robert J. Samanie Jr. and the company he founded was the lifeblood of that part of the world at one time. When shrimp was the tie that bound everyone together, the packing plant was a center of the universe that employed multiple generations of local families, saw to their welfare even in the off-season, and was at times the literal glue that held things in place.
It should be noted here that Bobby is one of two local people who sit on the commission. Houma attorney Jerri Smitko is also on the board. Like Bobby, she has tremendous firsthand knowledge of the shrimp industry and like him she is also an avid recreational fisher. The fact is we are blessed as a community to have two people that understand who we are and who know what we find to be of importance regarding the management of wildlife.
“I get to do one of things 1 have enjoyed doing the most which is helping people/’ is how Bobby sees his work on the commission. “I make my living off seafood, it is one my favorite things in the world. I love being around the professional staff at WLF all the talented biologists and enforcement people who put their lives on the line, that thankless job they do. I can do something that helps sustain the resource itself so that we can leave it better than we found it.”
Bobby’s elevation as chairman gives him a number of advantages procedurally that can help to place local concerns even further.
Some years ago, due to economic necessity, Bobby and his wife, Mona, left Dulac for points east. He is now vice president of Lafitte Frozen Foods in Venice. But the concerns and the challenges are the same.
What is important to know about Bobby and his place on the commission is the respect 1 always saw him give to the smallest boat fisherman and the captain with the big, many thousands of pounds type vessel. Spending time in his office while learning about the shrimp industry, I saw fairness at work. I saw a healthy recognition by Bobby of the humanity in each man or woman he spoke with, processor or captain, shrimp-picker or deckhand.
Sitting on the commission doesn’t put any extra money in his pocket or those of fellow members.
But there is good that comes to him from it, if nothing else the knowledge that he will be able to help when needed should folks in his beloved shrimp fishery need him to stand up for them.
The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission has made a good choice.
Let’s hope that as this new year progresses, the others they make are just as wise.
