Lafourche fishermen struggle to find work

Galliano fishermen Eric Hebert has been sitting at home with his boat docked in Bayou Lafourche for more than month.

Usually April and May are prime months for local fishermen to profit from their catch, but the oil spill has caused many, including the Galliano man, to rethink their primary source of income.

Long term, the oil spill could devastate local fisheries for years to come.

But in the short term, Lafourche fishermen look to recoup some of the money they’ve lost by going to work for BP.

Through BP’s Vessels of Opportunity program, fishermen are offered the opportunity to make money by laying boom or scooping up oil.

“We had to do a BP training class to get a BP certified card saying that we’re trained to do the job,” said Hebert. “We had to sign a contract from BP agreeing to their terms and the Coast Guard’s overwhelmed with all the inspections for commercial vessels so they made us do a self inspection. You sign it, document it, turn it in to BP with your contract and then after that all you have to do is sit down and wait.”

And wait Hebert has – three weeks and he still hadn’t received a call from BP.

That’s when Lafourche Parish Government stepped in and advised a more sensible plan of action to BP.

“Parish President [Charlotte] Randolph has been working with BP, the Coast Guard and even the port officials to come up with a plan,” said Lafourche Parish Public Information Officer Brennan Matherne. “We weren’t required to do that, but President Randolph felt if we came up with a plan and presented it to BP, it would be like a no brainier. They wouldn’t have to do the work and figure things out. We could do the work here, and they would jump on it. That’s exactly what we’re seeing happening.”

Matherne said the process will include meeting with local fishermen, BP and Coast Guard officials to discuss what vessels would be better for different operations along the bays and shores.

This plan was announced to Lafourche Parish fishermen Thursday morning, something Hebert said has already produced calls to some and raised the morale of others.

“We are hearing that more people are being called,” said Matherne. “Obviously if and until all of our commercial fishermen that signed up for the program are employed, it’s never enough. But yes, more people are getting called up, and we’re happy to see that.”

Although Hebert hasn’t received a call to go to work yet, he is pleased with the turn of events and is very confident he will receive a call in the near future.

Prior to Thursday’s meeting, Lafourche Parish fishermen felt they were being passed over for other fishermen whose boats were stationed closer to the spill – even if those fishermen signed up after they did.

“Some of these guys went to the classes, went through all the major channels, went through the Coast Guard, and did everything they had to do while some went to classes after [they were called], and they were called before the others,” said Lafourche Parish Council Chairman Daniel Lorraine prior to Thursday’s meeting. “It’s just not right.”

According to fishermen prior to Thursday’s meeting, BP was hiring contractors who then hired the fishermen. They said rather than hire a certain number of certified fishermen, the contractors would call one and ask him to bring that certain number of fellow fishermen along with him. The fishermen could then hire friends we were un-certified.

“What happens then is naturally they call the people they know to go to work,” said Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph prior to Thursday’s meeting. “My concern is if BP is calling the contractor and the contractor is calling one fisherman then not everybody is getting a shot at this, and that’s not a fair way of doing this.”

With the staunch support of Lafourche Parish Government, fishermen like Hebert will sleep better at night with the strong hope that a job is just around the bend.