onEarth
The magazine of the Natural Resources Defense Council
MUTATED
TRUTHS
Five years after the BP disaster,
the oil company says everything is
back to normal.
This shrimper begs to differ.
PHOTO: SARAH CRAIG
In 2010, NRDC partnered with StoryCorps
and Bridge the Gulf to tell stories of people
living through the Deepwater Horizon
disaster. As the five-year mark approaches,
onEarth revisited Gulf residents for an
update. First of four parts.
Acy Cooper is tough as nails. He's a third-
generation shrimper, born in the small fishing
town of Venice, found about 80 miles south of
New Orleans. As vice president of the
Louisiana Shrimp Association, Cooper has
his finger on the pulse of the bayou’s lucrative
fishing industry. The harvest, however, hasn’t
been so bountiful since BP’s Deepwater Horizon
exploded on April 20, 2010, releasing 200 million
gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico.
Now, five years later, Cooper and his family,
consisting of three kids and nine grandchildren,
are struggling to make ends meet. BP’s massive
PR campaign touting the region’s return to
normalcy does not play well in these parts.
Cooper says fishing catches are down by a third,
and several of his fellow fishermen complain of
inadequate compensation from the oil company—
many took quick cash payments after their
claims became bogged down with paperwork.
Now they have little financial support if business
conditions don’t take a turn for the better soon.
The signs aren’t encouraging. As his friends
lose their homes and shrimp come in with massive
tumors, black gills, and no eyes, Cooper worries
the community will continue to deteriorate if
fishing doesn’t return to normal—for real.
“Its not right” Cooper says. “It’s a long way to
being right.” Listen to his story below.
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