For Hernando fishermen this summer been tougher as the area suffered no direct effects from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in April, their lives continue to be affected months after the oil stopped gushing into the gulf. Bari, who has been a commercial fisherman for 30 years, said that although the damage from the oil spill is not as apparent here as that found in Louisiana and other states, Hernando County’s commercial fishing industry continues to struggle.
Many fishermen complain that supplies of grouper, shrimp and blue crabs never dwindled in the regions of the Gulf of Mexico where the local captains fished, selling their catches at profitable prices. Despite promises by British Petroleum to reimburse affected fishermen for the losses, Bari said he’s still waiting for about $15,000 in compensation from his loss of work.
Justine Carufel, who, along with fiance Jerry Storey operates the 30-foot fishing vessel Sarah Lynn, said after oil spill the life become tough. The couple normally trawls for shrimp in July, but they gave up because of the poor quality of their hauls.
Now every suffered fisherman are focusing on the coming stone crab season. If everything goes well, they could salvage their year financially. Troubles for local fishermen began in January when a series of hard freezes made fish and bait scarce.
