Heeding the call of a seafood coalition led by the Gulf Seafood Foundation, Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United and Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is the first Gulf governor to petition the federal government to declare a Gulf fisheries disaster. Flood waters from the upper Mississippi River tributaries continue to gush into delicate saltwater estuaries vital to the lifespan of a wide variety of Gulf seafood and the livelihood of fishermen and seafood processors.
The largest and most respected seafood organizations in the Gulf called upon all five Gulf governors to formally petition the federal government to declare a seafood specific disaster on May 30th. In addition to the Gulf Seafood Foundation, Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United and the Louisiana Lt. Governor, the coalition also included: the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, Louisiana Shrimp Task Force, Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, Texas Shrimp Association, Oyster South, Port Arthur Area Shrimpers Association and the Louisiana Crawfish Task Force.
Gov. Bryant made the disaster request to U.S Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross the following day citing more than 70 percent of the Mississippi Sound’s oyster population as dead and a crab catch reduced by more than 35 percent.
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