[StBernard] Working on Water event in St. Bernard to teach fishers income opportunities

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Thu Oct 16 22:31:34 EDT 2014


Working on Water event in St. Bernard to teach fishers income opportunities
Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on October 16, 2014 at 12:25 PM, updated October 16, 2014 at 1:14 PM

An event in St. Bernard Parish on Tuesday will teach fishers how to leverage
their knowledge of local waterways to supplement their incomes through
ecotourism, coastal restoration and disaster recovery. The workshop also
will create a database with attendees' information to connect them with
coastal restoration and disaster work as it becomes available.

The "Working on the Water" event, envisioned as annual event geared toward
fishers across coastal Louisiana, will include a keynote address by state
Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, along with presentations from
Louisiana and Main Sea Grant agents, and various financial, coastal
restoration, tourism, government contract and workforce development experts,
among others.

The workshop, which is free and includes a complimentary lunch, was
conceived following the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill when the St.
Bernard Economic Development Foundation commissioned a study into economic
opportunities available for those whose livelihoods were impacted by the
disaster.

"Given the volatility of the economy and the hurdles we have had to overcome
- from oil spills and hurricanes, to coastal erosion and changing ecosystems
- it is important that our fishermen have the tools necessary to adapt and
prosper," said Joey DiFatta, the economic development foundation's chairman.

The event is being help from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Arlene Meraux River
Observation Center on The Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation's
Docville Farm at 5128 E. St. Bernard Hwy. in Violet. Interested participants
should arrive at 7:30 a.m. to register.

For more information, call 504.345.9756 or visit workingonthewater.com.

One of the economic development foundation-commissioned study's
recommendations was building up ecotourism to provide those already working
on the waterfront with an opportunity to use the skills and resources they
already have at hand to generate additional income.

And in the fall of 2013, in an effort to reach individuals, the St. Bernard
Economic Development Foundation, the Regional Planning Commission, and Nunez
Community College began planning the Tuesday workshop.

"Ecotourism, coastal restoration, and disaster response translates to big
business," said Ed Shedlock, the assistant director of Nunez's
Entrepreneurship Center. "The fishing tradition in St. Bernard coupled with
our unique geography and environment presents a large, untapped economic
development opportunity for fishermen and anyone interested in working on
the water." 

See the draft pamphlet for the event:
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/10/working_on_water_event_in_
st_b.html




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