NEW ORLEANS — Shrimpers in Louisiana and Mississippi have had to deal with the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, an influx of fresh water during the Mississippi River’s flooding and a spike in fuel prices. They’re even being branded as turtle killers.
“We have a hard enough time surviving as it is without putting more on us,” said A.C. Cooper, a Plaquemines Parish shrimper and the vice president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association.
“Fuel prices high, shrimp prices down,” said Pete Gerica, a fisherman on Lake Pontchartrain. “I got better prices in the ‘70s.” He said small shrimp were selling for $1 to $1.40 a pound on the dock.
To him, the shrimp caught this year were smaller than usual. He wondered if the oil spill hurt the usual food sources for shrimp. “The populations (of shrimp) were there, they just didn’t grow. The crabs were behind in growth too,” Gerica said. “I don’t think there was enough in the system for them to get to the size we usually see.”
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