BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – As Laura gets closer to Louisiana’s coast, fishermen are still unsure of the impact the storm will leave behind.
Acy Cooper, the president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association says the a storm is always a scary event for fishermen.
“You just can’t be out there in type of weather,” Cooper says. “You just can’t take a big chance with your life. You know family’s more important.”
Cooper knows the water has to be just the right temperature and depth. Anything beyond that and his nets might come up empty. That’s why hurricane season is always a nail bitter. You never know what’ll happen.
“I’ve seen some come and take it all out with it,” Cooper says. “We just struggle the next year.”
Laura can be a good or a bad influence for the seafood industry. If she brings enough water to move fish closer to shore, fishermen benefit. During Hurricane Katrina, the winds were good for business, though she was devastating for New Orleans. On the other hand if Laura displaces seafood, fisherman might not get a good catch for months or even years.
Nets are being pulled out of the water and the boats are coming back in. While laura is barreling through the gulf a fisherman can only hope her impact will be small.