The U.S. Department of Commerce has declared a federal fisheries disaster for Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi from the freshwater flooding from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico from the prolonged opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway. The spillway opening is being blamed for high mortality rates of oysters, dolphins, sea turtles and other aquatic life. A fisheries disaster declaration also followed the Bonnet Carre’s opening in 2011, freeing up federal funds for replanting oyster beds, which have died again. Congress this year appropriated $165M for fisheries disasters, money that also will cover declarations for fisheries disasters that occurred between 2017 and 2019 in Alaska, California, Georgia, and South Carolina. (Source: Sun Herald 09/25/19) https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article235468007.html?
Shipbuilding and maritime related news from the Central Gulf Coast region
