Louisiana
Louisiana shrimpers forced to gamble their livelihood to stay in the industry
Craig Theriot looks out at the Gulf of Mexico as his boat is fueled up. It’s the waters he’s worked his entire life. If anything breaks in the next 10 days, he’ll never be able to work her waters again.
“I’m leaving tomorrow. I don’t make much money, but it’s a check,” Theriot said Feb. 27. “Hopefully we don’t have a breakdown, ‘cuz if we get a breakdown, I’m done. You can put me on the shelf.”
Theroit’s story is shared by many shrimpers this year. It’s off-season, but Theroit’s savings have all but depleted because it’s simply not profitable to go out shrimping right now. Prices are the lowest they’ve ever been and are driving many shrimpers and processors in the Lafourche and Terrebonne area out of the industry. Business leaders say it’s imports being illegally dumped on the market that are driving the prices down, and while there are tariffs imposed on the imports, it’s not enough.
Theriot became a deckhand at 17, but he said he has been on the boat with his father since he was in diapers. The sense of freedom of the open water, the algae-like smell that hangs in the air, the beauty of a rising sun witnessed from the deck of his 55-foot boat, God’s Gift, he said there’s just nothing like it.
Shrimping is in his blood, Theriot said. So tied to the Gulf’s waters, even while he was taking time off, waiting and hoping for prices to bounce back, Theriot couldn’t go for long without the water’s briny kiss.
“My wife and I would go ride down to the end of the road in Cocodrie just so I could smell the water, ‘cuz I ain’t been on it in a while,” he said. “I’ve seen more sunsets and sunrises than most people are going to see in their lifetime. It’s beautiful, man. Lookin’ out your office window, you can’t ask for a prettier picture.”
The life and work that he loves is in jeopardy, more now than any other year. Boats are being sold, and processors are closing their doors, all because of the record low prices. Imports are driving the American shrimper out of the market, and Theriot doesn’t want to give it up waiting and watching his savings dwindle. He’d rather go out working.
“I love to do my job, and I’m good at it,” he said. “It’s freedom, bruh. I get to work for myself. Out there on the water, I mean you can’t ask for a better living. It’s hard work, but everybody’s got to work.… I couldn’t do much else at my age. I’m fixin’ to be 59-years-old.”
This year, many shrimpers just aren’t fishing, and it all comes down to overhead. Theriot’s is at least $6,600. During his last trip out, he sold 170 boxes of shrimp − 17,000 pounds − and he made $3,000. The market for shrimp has tanked. A pound of small shrimp, for instance, is selling for $.35 to $.40. On a normal year, they would sell for at least double that: $.85.
Theriot tallied up his overhead: fuel is $4,700, for 1,400 gallons; it’s about $1,500 for ice, and about $400 to $500 for groceries for two.
“That’s before I make a dime,” Theriot said.
Before captains leave, Theriot and other shrimpers have to make a prediction: do they think they will catch enough shrimp to exceed their cost to do business? If the profit margins aren’t enough, they don’t risk it, because unforeseen expenses like equipment failure can easily turn the entire trip into a loss.
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In a normal year, Theriot would have made enough during the season to coast on his savings and make repairs to his boat in preparation for the next season. But this off-season, he said he has no choice but to go back out. He is the breadwinner of the family, and the season was so bad he didn’t make enough to wait.
It’s not any better on the processors’ side.
Faith Family Shrimp Co.’s Angela Portier said processors are struggling as well. Faith Family Shrimp Co. can have up to five employees, but it currently has only one. She said it’s partly due to it being off-season, but it’s also because prices are just that bad. The company hasn’t lost any wholesalers who buy its shrimp, but buyers are limited on how much they can purchase.
The reason, business leaders say, is because of the imports. Figures provided by the Southern Shrimp Alliance show the three major importers into the United States are India, Ecuador and Indonesia. India accounts for 40%, Ecuador 25% and Indonesia 18%.
While mechanisms are in place to recoup money for the damages of practices like illegal dumping, they are all retroactive. It can take up to a decade before local businesses and captains ever see any relief for the damage done, and by that point, they say it’s too late.
Processors’ fates are linked with the shrimpers, Portier said. If shrimpers pull out of the business, processors have no product.
“We’re losing fishermen,” Portier said. “When you lose fishermen, you lose pounds. So then you don’t have the volume coming in and you need the volume to keep your facilities going. You’ve gotta have the product, and we’re not going to have the product if the industry keeps declining.”
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.
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