Commentary: Higher costs, lower profits wiping out shrimp industry

New Orleans CityBusiness, May 16, 2008 by Deon Roberts

On Tuesday, the day after the brown shrimp season started, Jules Nunez couldn't sound more disappointed.

Nunez, a gravelly voiced man whose son, Randy, runs a shrimp dock in Lafitte -- about 16 miles south of New Orleans as the egret flies -- had a grim prediction for shrimpers.

"It looks bad," said Nunez, whose family's name is practically synonymous with shrimp in Lafitte. "Between the price of fuel and the price of shrimp, they're in trouble."

I've heard it all before.

I grew up in Lafitte. Shrimpers are on both sides of my family. Some of my relatives still do it, but many have left the business for the same simple reason Nunez cited: The price shrimpers are getting for their catch is not enough to cover the cost to catch it.

A shrimper's overhead costs can't be avoided. They need diesel, which is soaring in price, to run their boats. They need food, which is also going up in price as fuel costs rise, for their trips. They need supplies, such as ice to keep the catch cold. And if they have a crew to pay, well, there goes more of the profit.

For as long as I can remember, shrimpers have complained it's just not worth it, and many have thrown in the towel.

Twenty years ago, when I was about 10, the banks of Bayou Barataria were lined with "steel hulls," a large variety of shrimp boat mainly used in the Gulf of Mexico. They had names like "Guiding Light" or "Risky Business." Today, the bayou banks are almost void of steel hulls. I guess the business really was too risky.

Nunez keeps track of how many steel hulls have disappeared. About 10 years ago, the Lafitte area was home to roughly 100. Today, there are about five, he said.

"It's dying out all the time," he said. Fishermen in their 60s and 70s are retiring, and the younger generation wants nothing to do with the industry, he said.

He's right. My father left shrimping behind about 20 years ago. He sold his skiff and became a boat captain for the oil and gas industry. Other relatives gave up shrimping or found other jobs to supplement their income from shrimping and crabbing.

My brother and I went to college, as our parents wanted. We never even considered becoming shrimpers. I don't remember any of my high school classmates saying they planned on going into shrimping, even those who weren't going to college.

When asked whether he thinks shrimpers will become extinct in the Lafitte area, Nunez said, "I think so."

Shrimping wasn't always a bad career. In fact, it used to be that shrimpers could make a good living. When I was a child, it seemed many shrimpers who owned steel hulls lived in nice homes in the Lafitte area. They were practically mansions among the other homes along the bayou. They bought their children and wives sports cars. They took expensive vacations and had expensive clothes.

Now, it's a break-even business at best, fishermen say.

Many blame shrimp imported from China and elsewhere for the falling price of shrimp. I seem to remember fishermen starting to complain about imported shrimp about 15 years ago. Those who stayed with the shrimping industry are still complaining about them.

Nunez couldn't explain why shrimp are so cheap. "We've been trying to find out for 20 years."

He traces the price back to the factories that package the shrimp and sell them to stores and others.

"Shrimp is cheap right now. Why they're cheap? I don't know."

As shrimpers go away, so does the culture intertwined with that way of life. Skiffs are intriguing boats, with their noisy engines, quirky names and "shrimp boxes," a compartment where fishermen separate shrimp from the minnows, beer cans and other unwanted items caught in their nets. People who make nets for shrimpers are mesmerizing to watch, their hand movements as skilled as those of an orchestra conductor.

Fortunately, some people are trying to help Louisiana's fishermen, especially after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

This week, the Southeast Louisiana Fisheries Assistance Center opened in Belle Chasse.

Christina Stephens, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Recovery Authority, said the state used $19 million in federal hurricane- relief money to award 15 projects to rebuild the state's fishing infrastructure, which suffered $528 million in losses because of the storms. Also, there is a program focused on removing hurricane- related debris from Louisiana waterways, she said. Further, a federally funded loan and grant program created after the storm for Louisiana businesses benefited some fishermen, she said.

A Loyola University New Orleans program markets locally caught shrimp to New Orleans-area restaurants to help fishermen make more money. Loyola's program has also tried to get fishermen sold on biodiesel.

These projects are encouraging. Fishermen need all the help they can get. Just ask Jules Nunez.