The oil spill has affected an estimated 13,000 commercial licensed fishermen in Louisiana, not including deckhands and crew, according to the Louisiana State Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. An estimated one-third of those fishermen are immigrants from Southeast Asia. Many speak little or no English, and face the third major upheaval of their lives.

Driving down Highway 1 and seeing all the seafood businesses that the Gulf oil spill could affect really saddened me.

A concerned community of St. Bernard Parish residents, fishermen and local officials attended a town hall meeting between BP representatives on Monday night at the Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center.

The Obama administration’s oil spill specialist on Monday rejected the notion of taking over the crisis, despite BP’s many failed attempts to stop the leak, according to The Associated Press.
“To push BP out of the way would raise a question, to replace them with what?” said Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, who is heading the federal response to the spill.

Dozens of fisherman and workers attend an informational fair for oil spill victims that featured briefings on the oil spill, arrangements for filing reimbursement claims, training for spill cleanup and information booths staffed by local health and social organizations.