NEW ORLEANS — It's been a tough year for fishermen, shrimpers and oyster farmers in southeast Louisiana and it has a lot to do with the two historic openings of the Bonnet Carre Spillway. Now, there's an algae bloom making the waters worse.
"It's the whole seafood industry, we're having to adjust for everything," said Nick Asprodites, owner of Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar.
People in the seafood industry have been working extra hard this year to serve up those popular seafood dishes.
"It's not pleasant, they're short sometimes, we can't get what we want," Asprodites said.
Asprodites explained that the fresh water from the spillway has forced fish to move out to survive.
"They're going to go where their habitat allows them to thrive," he said.
That means fishermen have to go farther into the gulf to catch fish and shrimp.
"They just move to where they can find them and it's a task," Asprodites said.
The only thing Asprodites is not serving right now is oysters.
"We can't even get them from where we want them," he said.
While they are in short supply, they are available in places that the spillway isn't affecting.
"It destroys the beds, it kills them, so you have to shut them down," he said.
He chooses not to serve those though, due to his preference.
Now fishermen are having to deal with the toxic algae bloom in Lake Pontchartrain and along the Mississippi gulf coast.
The Louisiana Department of Health suggests you don't eat fish or seafood where the algae is located because it can make you sick with rashes or nausea. A lot of fish in those areas are dying and commercial fishermen know they can't fish there.
Seafood hasn't been very easy to come by, but the fish, oysters, and shrimp restaurants are serving up are not being affected by the spillway so they are all fine to eat.