The livelihoods and way of life of the fishing households, businesses and communities dependent on the fishing industry are threatened by lingering effects of the human-made disaster associated with the prolonged and twice opening of the Bonnet Carré spillway in February to April and May to July 2019. To save lives, properties and the way of life in New Orleans and surrounding communities, the Bonnet Carré spillway was opened to release floodwater into Lake Pontchartrain and eventually into the northern Gulf fishing areas. The massive volumes of freshwater dumped into the region’s fishing grounds brought with them harmful freshwater algae that bloomed all over the coast. Beaches were closed, and advisories were in place until Labor Day weekend.
The commercial fishery impacts consist of losses of wild harvests by commercial fishers due to the prolonged freshwater intrusion. The direct losses to the commercial fisheries are equal to the actual landing values at time t less the expected landing values at time t. Recent NOAA Fisheries data showed substantial reductions in commercial landing values. Using 2014-18 as a benchmark period, the dockside values in 2019 declined by more than $100 million. These direct losses are the foregone landing values in 2019 (Fig. 1).
This human-made disaster is an externality that causes consumer and producer losses. Market forces cannot create a system of payments for the offended parties. The government needs to intervene and compensate for the losses suffered by consumers and producers. The U.S. Department of Commerce approved total federal disaster assistance of $88 million for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
The effects of the disaster confronting the northern Gulf will linger for some time. The economic hardships will further erode the quality of life of fishing households, businesses and communities. At present, the region’s commercial fisheries are significantly disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Meet the author
Benedict C. Posadas, Ph.D.
Extension Research Professor of Economics
Since 1990, Ben Posadas has consistently developed and maintained the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center’s (CREC) extension and research program in economics with... Read more
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