[StBernard] LRA Board Member Calls on NOAA for Equity in Fisheries Assistance to Louisiana

[Westley Annis]

LRA Board Member Calls on NOAA for Equity in Fisheries Assistance to Louisiana

$110 Million in Relief Should be Allocated Based on Need, Not Political Formulas

BATON ROUGE, La. (June 15, 2007) - Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) Board Member Rene Cross sent the following letter today to Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, National Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator. 

In the letter, Cross calls for NOAA to allocate $110 million provided for disaster relief to the shrimp and fishing industries devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita based on need and damage incurred by each state - not on the basis of a politically-created formula. Recently, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) passed a motion declaring that these new disaster funds be allocated to the hurricane-affected states using the same percentages employed in the initial fishery assistance appropriation passed by the United States Congress in June 2006, while a true damages assessment would likely take into account the proportion of production each affected state contributes in terms of annual landings, and the proportion of destroyed vessels and businesses. By this, and virtually any other measure, it is clear that Louisiana's fishing industry, which generates more than 74 percent of annual catch landings, contributes the majority! of the seafood production for the northern Gulf Coast.

Cross also reminded the NOAA Administrator that Louisiana was the only state in the northern Gulf to bear the brunt of both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the first and third most expensive catastrophes in American history. It is estimated that over $528 million in infrastructure damages were incurred by the Louisiana fishing community. The debris remainders of lost vessels, equipment, and dockside facilities blown and washed into the waters continue to impede navigation and fishing operations in many waterways. 

With leadership from Senator Mary Landrieu and the Louisiana delegation, the $110 million for the fishing industry was included in emergency supplemental spending bill recently passed and signed into law. 

Visit http://lra.louisiana.gov/assets/LRAlettertoNOAAonSupplemental.pdf <http://lra.louisiana.gov/assets/LRAlettertoNOAAonSupplemental.pdf>  to download a PDF of the letter.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana.

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