Will $2.9 million in grants actually help Mississippi fishermen?

In 2019, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce declared Mississippi a catastrophic regional fisheries disaster after the Bonnet Carre Spillway was open 123 days.

In 2023, it was declared that it was a federal fisheries disaster, making Mississippi fisheries eligible for assistance.

That money is finally making its way to fishermen and other fishing businesses in the state.

“At this point, it’s more like a feel-good program,” said one fisherman. “Here, let me give you a little money, make you feel better.”

It’s been five years since disaster struck the fishing industry in the gulf, and while fishermen have received some help since then, they say the response has been slow – too slow to actually be beneficial.

Usually, fishermen work during the season and handle maintenance during off-season, and walk away with some profit.

One fourth-generation commercial shrimper says you can’t do that anymore. He’s noticed a decline in brown shrimp, cutting his profit in half.

Mark Kopszywa has found himself in a perpetual cycle of playing catch-up after taking such a big loss in 2019 and not being able to make up for it quickly.

“We’ve actually been playing catch-up since Katrina, then the oil spill, then the openings of the Bonnet Carre spillway,” said Mark Kopszywa. “It’s like we’re never going to catch up again. We’re going to be constantly behind.”

Many fishermen have had no choice but to sink or swim as they wait for national resources to help.

While he’s grateful for any help, Kopszywa tells us fishermen are still dealing with the after-effects of this disaster.

“Everything goes back into the business. Everything that we make goes back into the business. Actually, the last two years we’ve had the added impact of the market being flooded with imports,” he said.” And some of the seafood factories on the coast shut down for a month to two months over the last two summers, and we can’t even work period then. So, it’s been really affecting us on the financial ends of it.”