Spillway disaster costs GC fishers

Fishermen households, businesses and communities dependent on that industry are being threatened by the disaster associated with the prolonged openings of the Bonnet Carré Spillway between February and July 2019. The spillway was opened to spare New Orleans region from floodwaters from the Mississippi River that were diverted into Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico. The massive freshwater dump brought harmful algae that bloomed across the coast. Beaches were closed, and advisories put in place. The impacts to commercial fisheries consisted of losses of wild harvests due to the intrusion. NOAA Fisheries data showed substantial reductions in commercial landing values. Using 2014-18 as a benchmark, dockside values in 2019 declined by more than $100M. The government compensated consumers and producers with $88M in federal disaster assistance for Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. (Source: Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium 11/02/20) http://masgc.org/news/article/major-fisheries-in-northern-gulf-of-mexico-declined-in-2019