Melissa & Michael - oystermen

A quick note from New Orleans.

I am still in New Orleans.  Glad I am not traveling, the wind is blowing at 30 mph.  That would not be any fun with the camper on top of the truck.

Currently, the big story down here is the huge oil leak coming from the BP oil rig that exploded last week.  I drove down to Hopedale, eastern Bayou and yesterday all the way down to Venice.  Fortunately, I could not see or smell any oil.  That can all change due to the very strong winds.  In Hopedale I spoke with an oyster harvester and his sister, they were both extremely concerned that this leak could wipe out the oyster beds for an unforeseen period of time.  The beds had been slowly rebuilt after Katrina and even though the harvests were not back to pre-Katrina levels, they were improving.  This leak is also coming at a time when shrimp and all other fish are spawning.  It takes between two to three years for an oyster to grow to fist size.

It will be a disaster if the oil washes into the marsh and wetlands.   The clean-up would be almost impossible.  Everybody here hopes that the oil will come ashore further east on the beaches where the clean-up would be easier.  At the gas station was a notice for an oil spill prayer service, people are desperate.  So, send all your good thoughts and prayers this way.  This could potentially affect Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.

Back to photo editing, hopefully I’ll post some later today.