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The Coast Guard on Sunday seized about 30,000 pounds of shrimp from two boats that were fishing about 35 miles south of Louisiana's Terrebonne Bay -- an area closed to fishing because of the BP oil spill, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Monday.
Coast Guard officials boarded the vessels Lady Monica and La Borrachita after receiving a tip that they were shrimping in closed waters. The vessels were cited for fisheries violations and the shrimp were dumped back into the sea, it said.
"The Coast Guard is committed to ensuring a robust law enforcement presence in the restricted fishing area," Lt. Cmdr. Carmen DeGeorge, chief of the Eighth Coast Guard District law enforcement branch, told the newspaper. "We will continue to dedicate assets to the restricted area to ensure integrity of the Gulf of Mexico seafood."
-- Mike Brunker
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Hhhmm, maybe the Border Patrol can take some lessons from the robust service provided by the Coast Guard.
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas oil riggers, most probably the bulk of the Deepwater Horizon crew, did not refuse the alleged BP demands, and were the hands that caused this disaster, and they want to blame BP? I say serve Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas right, their people caused this disaster, karma is a BI*CH. All their whining wont turn chicken sh*t into chicken soup.
I guess you're right, Sac...mike. After the "War of Northern Aggression" was over, we should have just sat back an' whittled and ate mudbugs forever, instead of negotiating with businesses that were able to extract valuable natural resources that are used by virtually everyone, provide jobs, education and economic development. To comprimise, thusly, is our SHAME!
Damn our desire to better ourselves!
Oh, you that are so evolved and above actually working like the oil field workers who are feeding their families...here's a thought for you: the computer you are using to write your half-baked comments is a petroleum product. The car you drove to buy that computer used fossil fuels that some working person brought up from the earth. Hypocrite. Blame yourself.
Slimy answers from cajunmomma and sardonicus. The same state of mind that led Louisiana and Mississippi riggers to destroy the Gulf with their reckless negligence, is alive and well in the bullsh*t replies they posted.
Can't really blame them at all; economy sucked to start with then here comes BP. People gotta pay bills, feed the family and keep a roof over their heads. Is BP going to compensate these people for their troubles? Probably...but how long will that take? A year, 2? By then they would be living in a refridgerator box behind the local grocery store.
Huh? Can't blame them? Tho its a bad situation, yes i can easily blame them for knowingly violating a ban on fishing in that area. You think its ok for them to fish these waters and put Toxic shrimp onto the market, where other innocent people may ingest these tainted seafood products and get ill?
I thought the same thing. I know these people are in a bad place right now, but knowingly selling poisoned food to make a few bucks is unacceptable. It's mindsets like this, that throw the public's walfare to the wind in order to make money, that got us where we currently are with this oil spill. Let's try learning from our mistakes.
If they were toxic, why were they dumped back into the Gulf? I don't think the article is very clear about why the area was closed and why the shrimpers were not allowed to work in an area that is actually producing results--30,000 pounds!
Were the shrimp tested? If thought to be toxic, why not dispose of them and not recontaminate the Gulf? I just don't think that the reasoning was clear.
I would hope that if they are professional fisherman, they would be testing to make sure the shrimp are safe. If not? Then you are correct sir, they should be executed immediately.
You think there is a way to make artificial shrimps.!!!!
i cant believe some people need further explanation why 30,000 pounds of shrimp caught in restricted areas need to be put back in the ocean and why it makes no sense to bring it back to shore. and we don't need to test every shrimp to satisfy the thick. these men fishing in restricted areas will increase the worry of contamination in gulf seafood supply and if even a few get to market and someone falls ill. it will hurt the industry further along with public trust. these me were greedy and considered only themselves. some shrimp boat captin is makin decisions because he feels the oil sheen is not that sticky lookin. or they didnt test his shrimp.. it is the same disregard to safety and regulation that caused the spill in the first place.
heyitsjohn..... Don't blame the border patrol - blame their bosses and Obama for tying their hands
No, blame Clinton for the NAFTA deal. Since it was passed hundreds of thousands of Mexican farmers were put out of business and immigration to the US increased, I think 60% or something like that. Most South Americans would love to be able to work and live in their own country. It's greedy muli national corporations that run around the world like pacmen gobbling up all the resources and forcing the people to scrap for crumbs.
Obama hasn't done much regarding immigration, so I don't really know what you're talking about, Brian. Frankly, it's not the most important thing to worry about at this point. With our economy in the crapper, there are a lot of Mexicans that are going back the other direction anyway. Tell me how the border patrol's "hands are tied" and maybe I'll consider your point, but frankly if you're saying we should be shooting people crossing the border or something equally insidious, well, you are a sociopath and your opinion is worth nothing.
No, blame the Republicans as well for crafting NAFTA, Clinton gave the GOP this one so he could get their cooperation on a budget issues that left the country with a balanced budget.
NAFTA is most certainly from the depths of the GOP base of corporations and wealthy elite.
Nice...
A built in excuse. How liberal.
why is no one talking about the fact of Pres. Bush-Cheney and their secret meetings with Big Oil- they refused to tell the public what these meetings were about. This si the Republicans fault- they allowed these permits to be issued without government regulations being followed! Stop blaming the current administration for the problems caused by the previous admin! These and many other permits were issued under Bush/ Cheney. And remember, Cheney is hooked into Halliburton!
Thank you
It's time that people understand that President Obama is about cleaning up the Country and all its coruption and greedy deal makers. that's why it does not matter whether he is a one term President. Because the next president will have no choice but to follow up just for face save.
"Josephy"..."Cleaning up the country and all its corruption and greedy deal makers"? LOL! Obama is the epitomy of corruption and greed! If you think that the next administration will be following in the footprints of the Obama admininistration, you are sadly mistaken. This administration has done nothing but destroy this country and trample all over the Constitution of the United States and take away the rights of its people!! You people need to WAKE UP! The United States of America is the last stand when it comes to democracy and free will. If we lose it here, it's gone forever. If you all like socialism and dictatorships so much...find a country that believes the way you do...we don't want you here!
As for this article...I think it's sad that BP has put this region of the U.S. in such straits that someone would go this far. And you ask why did they dump them back in the ocean? Not clear on that one either, but then again, we can't just take out all of the sea life that is there now, that hasn't already been killed or poisoned by BP and their oil, and ever expect our ocean to recover. Yes, I know we need oil and am not opposed to drilling...only to drilling at such depths in our oceans where we apparently do not have the technology to stop or control the flow when disaster strikes...because sooner or later, there are always "accidents".
I agree with Floridian-1, that's rotten of those fisherman.
What do you suggest they do? they NEED to live. Is BP gonna pay their bills, feed and Cloth their kids? Your whinning about a fishing ban being violated. But I don't see concern for the 4-5 million jobs lost over the next 5 years because of BP "knowingly violating" saftey measures. But the Rightwing MSM is saying Obama is being too hard on BP, and the CEO should go to his Yacht races on the French Riviera, "because he's had a stressful time lately".
What warped thinking. You don't break the law and poison other people because you "need to live". What about the people eating the toxic shrimp - don't they "need to live"?
Hey, I feel where you're coming from and I agree with most of what you say, but I can't see selling bad shrimp that might make people sick. Part of that 20B should be used to set up a fund for the people of the area to use NOW.
What I'd suggest that they do is to file for compensation from the BP program. Putting tainted shrimp into the food-chain is going to decimate the entire region's industry to a point where nobody will want to eat Gulf Coast shrimp again! The money-at-any-cost attitude of BP got us into this mess, these free-lance shrimpers are doing the same thing - arguably even worse since their actions will directly poison people. BP took their short-cuts thinking that they could save some money and time. These shrimpers are directly putting tainted food out there deliberately. No matter how desparate their plight might be, there isn't any viable excuse for knowingly poisoning fellow human beings. I hope these shrimpers recieve some jail time.
Yeah, seriously. Some people just don't get it. What are they going to do? I'll tell you: Because of BP, they need to find other jobs before they collect whatever money BP ends up paying in reparations. Because of BP, that's all they can do. What they can't do is ignore a very responsible ban and poison people eating their illegal shrimp.
We need to regulate these corporations to keep them honest, that way we won't have to worry about the poor shrimpers in the future.
Yeah, seriously. Some people just don't get it. What are they going to do? I'll tell you: Because of BP, they need to find other jobs before they collect whatever money BP ends up paying in reparations. Because of BP, that's all they can do. What they can't do is ignore a very responsible ban and poison people eating their illegal shrimp.
We need to regulate these corporations to keep them honest, that way we won't have to worry about the poor shrimpers in the future.
Yeah, seriously. Some people just don't get it. What are they going to do? I'll tell you: Because of BP, they need to find other jobs before they collect whatever money BP ends up paying in reparations. Because of BP, that's all they can do. What they can't do is ignore a very responsible ban and poison people eating their illegal shrimp.
We need to regulate these corporations to keep them honest, that way we won't have to worry about the poor shrimpers in the future.
You're WRONG dude, you don't screw-over your fellow man to pay your bills. You suck it up and find another solution................
Where does it say that the shrimp are poisoned? Kind of a large leap. If the shrimp were poined, they wouldn't have been caught.... too dead to swim.
Even with a 20B dollar trust fund that they can tap into these folks do something like this. Isn't this just greed that these fishermen are showing? Lets face it, they could probably make a lot of money on that tainted haul. But then it is not the first time this sort of greed and impatience has reared its ugly head as this sort of selfishness has happed before in the food and other industries.... Just look at the Gulf... a blowout oil well gushing uncontrollably into the Gulf.... LOL
These folks in Louisiana need to get a grip..... Even as the Gulf is awash in oil and the gusher remains uncapped, gushing up to 60 thousand or more barrels of oil mixed with dispersants into the Gulf, destroying everything like fishing, wetlands, wildlife, beaches, and tourism etc , these are the same folks who want the 6 month moratorium on deep sea drilling to be lifted -- even when the full details of how the disaster occurred is under investigation, and there is no apparent technology to quickly deal with one of these type of gusher/blowouts to date by any of the oil companies drilling in the Gulf these days -- and have even gone to court to have it lifted..... imagine that.
It seems that in this country for some people in their selfishness, it is about making a fast buck no matter what or who gets hurt and to heck with the consequences-- long or short term.... who cares if fishing in closed waters due to the oil and dispersants there make for a toxic poisonous mix.... just providing these guys make their monies.......
what you posters dont relize is most of these shrimpers work on a cash under the table pay no taxes basis and certaintly do not keep any records therfore have no ligit claims to bp for compensation therfore they are screwed by there own previous behavior its called greed
With that logic anyone who has suffered under this Bush & Obama cluster #u$k of an economy should be forgiven because they have bills to pay?
I'm sure the next home invasion crew will use that as a defense.
As a mother of an adolescent daughter who loves shrimp, I take serious offense to this. As people, each and every one of us are presented with choices to make between right and wrong. And, our choices affect the well being of other people. It is ironic that the exact mentality of "it's business" to justify cutting corners and wrong doing is exactly the thing that got us into this mess to begin with.
Boy, dthat's just what I wanted to buy - oil layden shrimp. Yummmmmmy!!!
easier to fry... you don't need to add oil... already got some!
Thank God for the Coast Guard. I'd like to give these shrimpers the benefit of the doubt but unfortunately, there's too many bad guys looking to make a quick buck anytime we have a real disaster. There are PLENTY of agencies/churches/nonprofits available to help these families with food/clothing/etc. until checks arrive from BP -- so that's a cop-out excuse. It all boils down to the MONEY and greed---the price of shrimp, oysters, and other seafood will go through the roof until this mess is cleaned up. Thank you, Coast Guard.
We know our government is prone to knee-jerk reactions in cases like this. All those people who had nail clippers and cuticle scissors confiscated at airport security stations post 9/11 can attest to that.
The real question is, has anyone tested the shrimp to verify that it is, in fact, poisoned or tainted, or did they just "close the waters".
And the next question is, who is checking the fish that eat shrimp in the restricted zone, and are caught hundreds of miles away in an unrestricted zone? Are those fish tainted as well?
Mercy!
Blame these people, blame these people. No, no... let's all blame these other people over here!!
How's about everybody take a breath and realize what's really happened?
Everyone screwed up. Everyone!
BP screwed up by mindlessly pursuing profit over people, but that's what most multi-billion dollar corporations do; the politicians (from both sides of the aisle) screwed up by allowing the "regulations" to be relaxed to the point that this fiasco could ever happen in the first place and yes, these shrimpers---desperate though they might be--screwed up by trying to glean shrimp from oil infested waters to try and make a much needed dollar.
Wonder what would happen if folks would spend half the energy expended blaming everyone else and I dunno....work on solutions?
But then again, it's much easier to sit back and point fingers and rant and rave about how the "other side" is the one to hold responsible.....isn't it?
Hey lewisvillelady, what's an observant, reasonable gal like you doin' in a place like this? ;)
Could use a bunch more people like you in this world. (ever thought about running for office?)
mjlew and Mrfrost are idiots. I wonder how their attitudes would change if their families were the ones to eat the toxic shrimp these people were willing to sell on the open market. So, I guess it's ok to harm others as long as I can feed mine. No wonder we're in the state we're in here in the US.
As someone said earlier... are the shrimp toxic? Who tested them? If they were toxic, why were they tossed back in the ocean?
On the other hand, were these shrimpers qualified to test the shrimp? Or were they fishing in what visually appeared harmless to them? Maybe these guys are really trying to earn a living and were only putting people at risk inadvertently, but they were fishing in closed waters. I know many people along the gulf distrust the government. These guys might have thought the g-men were just covering their backsides. In the end though, the person eating the shrimp gets sick and pays for it all the same.
Stop blaming everything on Obama and his administration. Had this happened under Bush's watch, it would be acceptable collateral damage of corporate business. People’s memories are short; remember the thousands of people who are still displaced from their homes along the shores from Hurricane Katrina. I'm sorry to say that most people have the brains of a small kitchen appliance. Where the news dispenses information like fluff pieces, opinion is swayed by big money lobbyists and shock jocks like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
I bet they were vietnamese.Could be wrong.But i doubt it.
Thank Bush and Cheney for letting the big oil companies do what they want with little or no consequences. I have an idea, let's put a cap on big oil liability, let's say $75,000,000. Oh wait, thank Bush and Cheney again. Remember people a $450,000.00 blowout preventer installed when it should have been and this all would be a non issue.
Thank you Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney.
Oil is organic, an all natural produce of Mother Earth. Organic food is supposed to be better for you.
I really feel sorry for these fishermen and their families but it is grossly wrong for them to knowingly fish in closed waters where the fish have been contaminated by oil. They were willing to fish these waters and sell their catch to an unsuspecting public that would eat the contaminated food and get ill and possibly have to go to emergency rooms. That is gross negligence on their part. Again, I feel sorry for their position because it was not their doing but their actions to endanger the health and lives of unsuspecting consumers must not go unpunished.
Well, I hope the fisherman can use the lost catch as documentation of lost income, and then get compensation from BP and the 20B fund!
Let's see 30,000lbs at $3/lb X 60 days = at least $5.4 million and growing
In my opinion, they should have confiscated their boat also.
If they have so little regard for the law and others, they have probably already submitted a clain to BP,
Hell, why not, give me mine and screw eveyone else, probably an anti-government Teabagger.
Better get the anger under control. Economic conditions (not to mention the crash of the food chain) will make the 60 million dead from WWII look like small potatoes.
This shrimper story is pretty sparse on details. Who knows? We're talking about a huge fishing area that is only partially closed. They may not have known where they were. But, they should have. This "thing" down here is only just beginning. We'd better pray they don't crack the sea floor. This field supposedly contains an estimated 50 billion barrels of oil. What's that, about a 2 day supply for the U. S.? The gulf stream circles the intire upper Atlantic. The effects of this will be far reaching and long lasting. The Gulf Coast could very well become another Nigeria.
Isn't Nigeria already?
I had disgusting breath for years. I had no friends and even family keep me at a distance. I was flossing brushing and rinsing everyday but still had bad breath. I spent thousands on all kinds of products claiming to stop bad breath but still had bad breath. I came across a site called OralTech Labs and it gave me my first insight into my problem. After I did all the advice in the eBook it identified Post Nasal Drip as the primary issue with eating and cleaning as the oral problem. So I was happily surprised when my brother asked the following week why my breath didn’t smell any more, I told him what I’d done he’s like thank god for that book! OralTech Labs. Now 6 months later I have my first girlfriend and worked up enough courage to tell her about what I was like just 1 year ago. She said I smelt better than any other boyfriend she’d had. Music to my ears! Thanks OralTech Labs!
Thank goodness! I thought for a minute that your posting was completely irrelevant to the topic and just an advertising spam.
So, exactly when did George Bush and the oil companies infect you with this (so-called) "post nasal drip"?
The waters were closed for a reason. There's a good chance those shrip are toxic. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't but I sure as h*ll don't want to find out...
Somebody said if they were toxic they'd be dead. I don't buy that. There are plenty toxic birds and fish still alive, dying a slow death out there...
These are the guys who were caught. No telling who else is out there that didn't...
And then there's the talk of the methane gas out there. No one's really talking about that, but from what I've read, it's a MAJOR PROBLEM.
Many of the contaminated areas are beginning to test very low in oxygen as well. This is pushing the sea creatures out of their normal environments as will also kill the coral. Something on the news this AM (GMA, I believe.) about how the schools of fish and sharks have been found in large #'s close to the shores. Also, a lot of the oil is beginning to sink and just roll around on the ocean floor in a disgusting blanket of orangish/brown goo. Say bye-bye to our beautiful FL reef system!
A corporation is only as strong as its weakest link. Those weak links live in trailers by choice and are lucky to hold GEDs. If NASA settled for backwater trailer park employees we would still be wondering if the earth is flat.
As for the fishermen, a case of getting caught while others get away and poison the people they call neighbors. This is not surprising since Louisiana has kissed the big Oil rump for many decades. They cry now because their target of affection got oil on their puckered lips.
BP will survive, and maybe even convince Louisiana education is important.
Were they jumbo shrimp?
SacramentoMike - being from Louisiana and more specifically the gulf coast, I resent your words. Karma??? 11 great men lost their lives, children have no fathers, mothers lost their sons. And these were the hands that bring you the gas for your car. What, no car because you ride your bike? How about those tires on your trike? And, the plastic in your computer, as a matter of fact, the plastic in everything... know where that comes from Mikie?? How about warming your house in the winter?? Oil, duh. I would love to have a blockade put up at the mouth of the Mississippi and block all oil going into the rest of the states, so blubering fools like you can pay for your thoughtless remarks.
seeingred. Being from America I resent your words. 11 reckless greedy pals of yours with their hands on the wheel caused a horrendous wreck. Youre a complete slimeball to play emotional tricks with people. Dont bullsh*t me with appeals to emotion claiming children have no fathers and mothers lost their sons. The same assh*les who could not care less about their children or parents by recklessly blowing up the rig, are responsible for the deaths of thousands of birds and sealife, whose only misfortune was these idiots were in the area.