[StBernard] St. Bernard officials meet with local fishermen; La WLF announces openings for commercial and recreational fishing

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro & Parish Officials Meet with
local fishermen 

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Announces Additional
Openings to Commercial & Recreational Fishing


St. Bernard President Craig P. Taffaro Jr. and Council members Wayne Landry,
Mike Ginart & Fred Everhardt met with local fishermen who have been
dedicating their time to help save our coastal waters and marshes. Twenty
miles of boom has been deployed, totaling 20,000 hours of hard work by our
local fishermen.

 

"We want to support your voice so you can sustain your business. Many things
are going on behind the scenes to keep you working." Taffaro said at a
morning meeting in the Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center Grand Ballroom in
Chalmette.

 

"You can pride yourselves in knowing that you have been part of the largest
fishing fleet on the Gulf Coast responding to this disaster. One of the
things we have to do is protect the program we have going with integrity,"
Taffaro said.  "We are trying to be as fair as possible to keep everybody in
the game. The council members and I are putting your interests first."

 

Taffaro said the parish plans to begin the next rotations of fisherman who
will be involved in training and booming efforts as soon as possible. 

 

"With enough people, we can deploy 150,000 feet of boom a day. Soft boom is
being strategically stockpiled for when we really need it. Teams will soon
begin training on certain techniques and tactics," he said.

 

Taffaro asked the affected fisherman to call the BP Claims hotline at
1-800-440-0858 to get a claim started with BP. He also said he intends to
have locals posted at the BP Claims Center to help recognize and assist
local fisherman. He asked the fishermen to take advantage of the Small
Business Administration loans currently being offered if they care to do so.
It is a 4% interest loan, and it may be possible to defer loan payments. 

"It's a bridge loan to keep you afloat as long as possible," Taffaro said. 

All people involved in the Vessels of Opportunity Program in St. Bernard
Parish must report to the Drug Court at 1009 West Moreau Street in
Chalmette, which is across the street from St. Bernard Sheriff's Annex where
the old Office of Motor Vehicles was located, for testing tomorrow from 9
a.m. to 1 p.m. and Monday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for those fishermen who wish to
remain working in the program. Fishermen who have not passed a drug test
will not be allowed on a boat.

Vessels of Opportunity fishermen who are assigned to Team Two are being paid
tomorrow in the lobby of the Government Complex from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

An oil response training class, which will be open to St. Bernard Parish
residents only, will be held on Monday, May 17 at 7:30 a.m. It is also still
available to those fishermen enrolled in the Vessels of Opportunity Program
who have not finished the training. The fishermen will have a priority in
seating for these classes. The training is taking place in the Civic
Auditorium, located at 8245 W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette. There is
limited seating for each class (200), and arrivals to the classes will be
accommodated on a first come first serve basis.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries announces additional
openings to recreational and commercial fishing:

"Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Secretary Robert
Barham announced the following openings to recreational and commercial
fishing activities effective tomorrow, May 15, 2010 at sunrise.

Inshore Openings:

The inshore area of Zone 1 from the Mississippi border to the south pass of
the Mississippi River with the exception of Breton and Chandeleur Sounds as
described by the double-rig line and the area south and east of Baptiste
Collette Bayou - this area in not open to shrimping.

The inshore area from near Sandy Point in Plaquemines Parish at 89 degrees
30 minutes 12 seconds eastward to the Mississippi River, except the waters
that are east and south of Red Pass channel which runs from Venice to the
Gulf of Mexico.

Territorial Sea Openings

The state's territorial seas from Point au Fer eastward to 91 degrees west
longitude.

The state's territorial seas from 89 degrees 30 minutes 12 seconds west
longitude, eastward to the mouth of Red Pass at 89 degrees 28 minutes 13.4
seconds west longitude. 

Please note that these areas are open to both recreational and commercial
fishing except in those areas closed by the Louisiana Department of Health
and Hospitals (DHH) to oyster harvesting.

LDWF continues to work closely with DHH to conduct tissue-sample analysis in
an effort to assess all opportunities to resume normal fishing activities on
Louisiana's Coast and guarantee a the safety of Louisiana's seafood.

All other closures remain in place."

Press who want to access to any Command Center should call ahead and receive
prior approval from Jennifer Belsom. Belsom can be reached at 504-444-6249
or jbelsom at sbpg.net <mailto:jbelsom at sbpg.net> .

###