Early this morning brought a pleasant surprise. With all of the mess of algae bloom, polluted waters from the spillway openings and runoff from northern farms, the Gulf, bays and bayous have had a hard time. The first part of the summer saw us in a tizzy over the tainted seafood that is so important to our area. Also to suffer, were the critters of that live here. During the early part of the summer there was a great lack of waterfowl, fish, aquatic mammals, reptiles and crustaceans. Things were not the same without my friends.
The hike to the pier proved to be a happy time since an old friend paid a visit. For the first time this summer, a lone alligator lingered just outside of the pier. That was good news. If the gators are back, that means the food supply is back. Sure enough, schools of mullet and menhaden were breaking the surface of the water and a lone redfish was stalking the bull minnows in the cut. Moe, the heron, was hanging out on the next pier over and a pair of pelicans was diving for breakfast. Life was getting back to normal. A slight bit of blue/green algae still floated near the marsh but not enough to cause problems, it seems. Now, barring any other incidents, the bayou could start being its old self again. Happy times!
With the way things look at the moment, the Gulf of Mexico has received another slap in the face. Just nine years ago, we had to endure the oil spill that, not only killed off so many marine creatures, it also killed off so many lifelines of the Coastal families. We are a seafood based industry down here. Fishing is a way life. The shrimpers, oystermen, fishermen, crabbers, seafood factories, charterboat captains...you name it...were all out of jobs. Their boats and gear lay idle while the oil killed most everything within its reach. Many lost their boats. Others lost their homes. All lost their way of life. It was a hard time for the Coast. It was years before things began to return to any semblance of normality. Finally, the seafood returned and was deemed fit to eat. It took years after that for the industry to return to its profitable self but many folks had already moved on to be able to support their families.
Now, the Gulf of Mexico faces another tempest. While all Coastians are ready and eager to help those in the flooded zones of the country, opening the spillways has, once again, created a mess for the fishermen. The marine creatures are dying at a great rate. Countless dead dolphins, sea turtles and fish are washing ashore. Entire oyster reefs have died. Crabs have literally suffocated. Shorebirds are not to be found. Schools of fish and shrimp have moved further out in an attempt to escape the water pouring into the Gulf. Many folks do not seem to see the harm in what has been done. "It is just fresh river water so it cannot be doing any harm." is said over and over again. Sorry, that fresh river water wreaks havoc on saltwater marine life. They do not have time to acclimate before it kills them. That "fresh" river water is also polluted from runoff. Whatever has been flooded up north of us has now spilled into the Gulf. Fertilizer, sewage, any number of chemicals and...yes...oil is making a mess down here.
Don't get me wrong. We are not blaming anyone. We are not pointing fingers. We are not begrudging those who are trying to save their places and livelihoods that are flooded. We understand THAT whole scenario as we are subjected to hurricanes that flood our area and we are sympathetic to those that are suffering. We understand that something had to be done to provide some relief. However, there has to be another answer. Opening the spillways has done nothing but spread the devastation to another area.
All of that said, the fishermen down here are working frenetically to catch what they can before the waters get any worse. The boats are going out further to make catches of "clean" shrimp and fish. (The crabbers and oystermen do not have that option.) This plan is working as far as catches but puts a new strain on the fishermen. Fuel prices, boat upkeep and extra time spent are making it a struggle to "stay afloat". The fact stands that the wages they earn has not kept up with the current state of affairs. Many cannot afford to keep running as their expense outweigh their profits. It is a sad situation.
Mark and I were able to get shrimp today from one of our longtime suppliers. This shrimper had to go outside of the "dirty" zone to get a good catch. The shrimp are beautiful and we are thankful he made the decision to keep trying. It is our plan to buy as many pounds of shrimp as we can to help those struggling. We have been there and done that ourselves. It is also our plan to stock up on the seafood so that, if worse comes to worse, we will have a good supply on hand to ride us over until the Gulf cleanses itself. Our freezers will be filled to capacity within the next few weeks. To those in the flooded zones and to those struggling with the situation in the Gulf, we hope and pray that this is soon over for all of us. To those with the ability to help any in need, please do. There are so many out there that have been affected that need help. We are all in this together.
