St. Bernard Parish pleas for federal aid for seafood industry

St. Bernard Parish President Brian McInnis calls on the feds to provide immediate relief in the form of disaster aid to help the struggling seafood industry.  Freshwater pouring from the Mississippi River into the area due to the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway is having devastating effects on the region’s largest economic driver.

“I am calling on Congress and President Trump to act swiftly to provide financial aid to our Gulf seafood harvesters and those businesses directly related to Gulf seafood harvesting,” said McInnis.

The spillway was opened in an effort to reduce the burden on levees in the New Orleans area.  As part of his plea, McInnis says Congress must require the 30 other states that drain into the Mississippi to do their part to manage the flow of water.

“Better management of water flow upriver will lessen the burden on Louisiana and the Gulf harvesting that supplies the world,” said McInnis.

McInnis says the plea for relief has the full support of the parish council, state and federal representatives.  The parish is the home of two refineries and says if a similar shutdown happened, more immediate attention would be received.

“I guarantee if you shut off those two refineries to the 30% of the energy to the eastern seaboard, see what happens.  Right now you are shutting off a $4 billion industry and you are doing it on purpose.  Granted you are doing it to save the city, but we can only endure so much,” said McInnis.

The parish has organized a trip to DC to state their case next week.