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Last updated: 15 june, 2010 - 13:38 GMT

The Louisiana fishing community paying the price of the oil spill

Matthew bannister in Louisiana

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In a special programme for Outlook, Matthew Bannister travels to the Mississippi Delta and meets the people whose lives have been directly affected by the oil spill.

This area of the Mississippi Delta is home to both America's oil and fishing industries. A huge proportion of the country's seafood comes from Louisiana and Matthew meets Eric Hanson who runs the shrimp dock in Plaquemines Parish. He also talks to Thuong Nguyen (pictured above), a Vietnamese fisherman and a member of the large Vietnamese community in the area who depend on shrimp fishing for their livelihoods.

Coast of Louisiana Gallery

  • On a battered coast, a sign of the times.
  • Pete Vela, a Croatian fisherman next to boat filled with ice, about to sail out and try his luck fishing in Port Sulphur.
  • One of the hundreds of reminders of Hurricane Katrina, a car in the marsh in the Venice area.
  • Boats on Venice marina.
  • Matthew Bannister with Eric Hansen, owner of the shrimp dock, Port Sulphur.
  • Joanna Leopold on the spot of her family home, which was destroyed during Katrina.
  • Isabella (left) next to Mary-Catherine, cousins at their grandparents' home.
  • Byron, owner of the Black Velvet restuarant in Buras preparing the last oysters in town.
  • Matthew Bannister downing the last oysters in town.
  • The local Catholic priest for the community, Father Joseph Tran, in front of property damaged by Katrina.
  • A bird covered in oil which had been perched on a post for two days in almost 100 degrees heat.
  • A rescue boat goes over to help the bird, it attemps to get away but is unable to fly properly.

Matthew also meets with the local Catholic priest for the community, Father Joseph Tran, who tells him why they are still physically and emotionally rebuilding after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina nearly five years ago. His church, St Anne's is still in ruins and much of the congregation has moved away after Katrina.

Matthew Bannister with Father Joseph Tran

Matthew Bannister with Father Joseph Tran

In Empire, Matthew meets local children who, have voiced their sadness and frustration at the spill. At a specially organised rally, he hears their fears about their parents' lack of work and the possibility of losing their homes, in some cases, maybe for the second time in five years.

Monica Baltodano-Dubey

Monica Baltodano-Dubey

He also hears from Monica Baltodano-Dubey, a counsellor and Executive Director at Plaquemines Community C.A.R.E. Centers Foundation who echoes those fears.

She tells Matthew why she's worried about an increase in domestic abuse in the area as some men, losing their livelihoods resort to violence as an outlet for their frustration and loss of self esteem. The oil spill, she says is allowing the trauma of Hurricane Katrina finally to surface.

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Related ´óÏó´«Ã½ Links

  • Assessing the global impact of the Louisiana oil spill

  • How has Louisiana been affected by the oil leak?

  • Bidding farewell to a disappearing shoreline

  • Are BP's clean-up chemicals harming marine life?

  • A closer look at the impact of the clean-up operation

  • The struggle to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil leak

  • The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is getting worse

  • Rig explosion causes oil slick in Gulf of Mexico

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