According to NOAA an additional $40 million in federal disaster aid has been budgeted for Louisiana’s struggling fisheries as they recover from hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The state officials were asked to come up with a plan for who is going to get the money and how. It is informed that the relief was made available through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service, a division of the federal Department of Commerce.
It is said that Texas is eligible for up to $7 million in disaster aid as well. To tap into the money, Louisiana must now develop a detailed plan for mapping how it will be used. As per the guidelines furnished by NOAA the money must be used to “assess the economic and social effects of the commercial fishery failure, restore the fishery or prevent a similar failure in the future.”
U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, told that Louisiana will use its share of the cash to restore damaged oyster reefs, remove storm debris hindering the shrimp industry and rebuild processing houses, docks, ice houses and other parts of the fishing infrastructure destroyed by the hurricanes. He added that clearing debris from our waterways and repairing hurricane-damaged docks, icehouses and other infrastructure is a critical step in getting Louisiana’s fishing industry fully up and running again.
NOAA has given the Louisiana Recovery Authority the charge to develope the plan to spend the money. But the agency’s director, Paul Rainwater, said the cash is nowhere near what is needed. He explained that this funding is a solid step forward, however we still have a great need of $250 million to assist our fishing industry in recovering from these storms, especially since the industry was still struggling after Katrina and Rita when hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit.
