Gulf fishermen reel from seafood troubles

Shrimpy harvest: In Lafitte, folks are usually upbeat and busy in May as shrimpers get back to work in Louisiana’s rich waters. But this spring, catches are down, docks are idle, and anxiety is growing that the ill effects of the massive BP oil spill may be far from over. An Associated Press examination of last year’s commercial catch and harvest data along the Gulf—the first full year of fishing since the 2010 spill—reveals merit in the fishermen’s complaints. According to the analysis of figures obtained through public records requests, seafood crops hit rock bottom in the Barataria estuary, the same place where some of the thickest waves of oil washed in when a BP well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Detailed data from “trip tickets” fishermen fill out when they unload at docks reveal steep drops in Barataria, though it’s far from bleak everywhere along the Gulf Coast. Click here to read the whole story from the Associated Press.