Photos of oily Mississippi beach, as the state halts spending on clean-up

Yesterday the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources issued an order to stop local oil disaster work that is funded by state money granted by BP.

According to the Sun Herald,  "[Bill Walker, Director of the Department of Marine Resources] said that at this point, money being spent on boom, testing and other work by local governments might be better spent on things such as promoting Gulf seafood."

Fishermen are contacting Bill Walker to protest this order:

bill.walker@dmr.ms.gov
228-523-4170 or 228-374-5010

The DMR's order is the latest development in the state and federal governments' ongoing efforts to declare an end to the oil and dispersant disaster.  Yesterday Obama publicly chowed down on some Gulf seafood, and last week Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour declared Mississippi beaches and seafood clean and safe.

On August 5th, the same day a Sun Herald headline read, "Barbour: State's surf, sand, and seafood are safe," I snapped the photos above on a beach in Biloxi, right next to the Beau Rivage casino.

Inside the Beau Rivage, a group of fishermen brought their concerns about seafood safety to the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, which was meeting to plan the restoration of the Gulf of Mexico (read more).  In the casino, air conditioning, perfume, carefully landscaped indoor plants, and the constantly pumping easy listening soundtrack made for a comfortable, if manufactured, environment for visiting tourists.  Outside, there were dead fish and crab, and visible oil and boom.  It smelled of dead fish for the four days I was in Biloxi, my nostrils were irritated after spending a few minutes outdoors, and other complained of headaches and irritated nose and throats.

Fishermen and Press!  If you want to connect with a growing group of fishermen across the Gulf states who are standing up for their livelihoods and for America's safety, please contact:

Tracy Kuhns
Association of Family Fishermen and Louisiana Bayoukeepers
Barataria, Louisiana
bayoukeeper@cox.net

or

Thao Vu
Mercy Housing and Mississippi Coalition for Vietnamese American Fisherfolk and Families
Biloxi, Mississippi

thaovu337@gmail.com