[StBernard] Go Fishing

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friends -

Recently, I had the opportunity to join leaders from national sportfishing
and conservation associations to go deep sea fishing in the Gulf. The fish
were definitely biting and we caught some mangrove snapper and cobia. Even
better though - my family and I grilled some of the mangrove snapper over
the weekend.  

 
<http://images.publicaster.com/ImageLibrary/account848/images/2010-08-05Jind
alEmail3.jpg> While we still face challenges from the oil spill, it's good
news that much of our water is now reopened to recreational fishing and now
our commercial fishing is beginning to come back.   It was a great trip out
in the Gulf and I encourage everyone to travel to the coast to get back out
on the water and catch some of our amazing fish. 

As fishing resumes it is absolutely critical that we put in place a
long-term recovery plan for our seafood industry which ensures not only that
Louisiana seafood is safe, but also protects our world-class brand.  That's
why I met with commercial fisherman at Cypress Cove Marina in Venice on
Monday, where we called on BP to fund our state's long-term seafood safety
plan. 

Our plan calls not only for long-term seafood testing, but also for a
marketing campaign aimed at restoring consumer confidence in our seafood
products. We submitted the plan to BP on May 29th, but as the New Orleans
Times-Picayune
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c175%7c9390&digest
=8qQVHWMH5gcIE%2by995vYVw&sysid=1>  reported "the state has not heard back
on a decision from BP to fund the program."  This long-term seafood safety
plan is part of our aggressive four-part Agenda to Revitalize Louisiana
which outlines our way forward through this oil spill crisis. 

This week I also traveled to North Louisiana where I was honored to help cut
the ribbon on Delta Community College's new campus in Monroe. As one of my
first acts in office, I was proud to support the State Bond Commission's
approval of $45 million in revenue bonds to help fund the construction of
the new campus.  

The ribbon-cutting was about far more than just bricks and mortar. For just
under a decade, Delta Community College has played a critical role in
training students so they can enter rewarding and high-paying careers.
Indeed, the school is a vital part of our workforce development reforms to
ensure all of our sons and daughters can pursue their dreams right here at
home. As I told the Monroe News-Star
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=393%7c176%7c9390&digest
=Tpk%2fXhgWsrhsvscdIlE1GA&sysid=1> , Delta Community College and all of our
community and technical schools are a critical component of growing
Louisiana and the ribbon-cutting is about inaugurating another step in
building a better Northeast Louisiana and a better Louisiana.

Sincerely,

Governor Bobby Jindal