TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Ike Devastates Oyster, Shrimping Industries

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: September 20, 2008

GALVESTON, Texas - Shrimpers and oystermen lost their boats to the muck. Tourist destinations on the coast that should be bustling at the start of convention season are flattened. Lingering power outages are keeping offices empty and restaurants closed from Texas through the Midwest.

It will take months or more to tally Hurricane Ike's financial toll, but one thing is clear: Almost nobody in its path escaped unscathed.

"Every industry has been impacted by this storm," said Jeff Sjostrom, president of the Galveston Economic Development Partnership.
Risk Management Assessment Inc., which quantifies risks for insurance companies, estimated Ike's impact would land in the low end of the $6 billion to $16 billion in insured losses that the firm initially predicted.

Ike crashed ashore last weekend near the mouth of Galveston Bay, which produces about 15 million pounds of seafood each year. Shrimpers and oystermen there will practically have to start over. Even those who can salvage their trawlers will have to cope with the carpet of debris Ike dumped on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.
Seafood wholesalers were hit hard, too. Ike destroyed the docks owned by Prestige Oysters Inc., one of the biggest harvesters in the Gulf, and slid its shrimp houses off their slabs. Owner Lisa Halili is wondering what to do with an arriving flock of immigrant fishermen who hold work visas but have no jobs awaiting them.

More than half the oysters sold in the eastern United States come from Louisiana and Texas. Ike killed oyster reefs with waves of saltwater, and officials say the storm's march through Galveston Bay will be catastrophic to an industry that generates more than $100 million annually.

"This storm, nobody realizes, has totally wiped out the industry," Halili said. "You can't buy an oyster reef."

Representatives of Louisiana's $2.6 billion seafood industry are asking the state's congressional delegation for federal relief. Early estimates indicate the industry sustained up to $300 million in losses to hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Cattle ranchers lost entire herds in some Texas counties, and animals not among the 4,000 killed right away may still die from eating the grass or drinking water tainted by salt.

More than 11,000 workers have filed unemployment insurance claims in the wake of Ike, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

In Houston, where the booming energy industry has kept the nation's fourth-largest city economically stable in a nationwide slump, the outlook was comparatively positive. The city's port survived with minimal damage, and the Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas production barely took a dent.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT