oystermen

Madina knows oystermen in lower Plaquemines who are taking $5,000 final, individual payments from the GCCF and signing away their rights to sue BP because they can't wait any longer for money.

Susan Buchanan: Oyster Growers Say Post-Spill Assistance Is Inadequate

"Less than 10% of GCCF payments have gone to Gulf fishermen, shrimpers and oystermen, who so far have been compensated for only a fraction of their losses."

Susan Buchanan: Oyster Growers Say Post-Spill Assistance Is Inadequate

Madina said oystermen need money to pay their mortgage or rent.

Susan Buchanan: Oyster Growers Say Post-Spill Assistance Is Inadequate

African American oystermen in Louisiana's lower Plaquemines Parish, where beds are damaged, are a tenacious bunch and don't intend to abandon their livelihoods and seek work elsewhere if they can help it.

Susan Buchanan: Oyster Growers Say Post-Spill Assistance Is Inadequate

Minority communities such as Native American fishermen, Vietnamese shrimpers and African American oystermen have been hit especially hard, since they are not well plugged into the complicated claims process due to lack of education and professional assistance.

Rocky Kistner: Questions the Press Needs to Ask About the Gulf Oil Disaster

Shrimpers, oystermen and crab fishermen have reported oily substances turning up in some of their catches.

Rocky Kistner: Questions the Press Needs to Ask About the Gulf Oil Disaster

Many people that rely on the rich fisheries and diverse ecosystems of the Gulf to keep their industries going -- including shrimpers and oystermen, waitresses and charter boat captains -- are still hurting.

Ian Somerhalder: The Oil Isn't Gone, but the People Are Still Here

But fishermen, shrimpers, crabbers and oystermen are finding little demand from a wary public, despite the federal government's insistence that all seafood being caught in newly opened waters is safe to eat.

BP Oil Spill Cost Hits $40 Billion, Company Returns To Profit

So last year when the state opened the diversions full-bore in a largely successful attempt to keep oil from the BP spill out of the coastal marshes, oystermen knew they were going to take a hit.

Man and Nature vs. Louisiana's Oystermen

A decade ago a group of oystermen sued for damages from the diversion projects and won a series of verdicts totaling about $2 billion.

Man and Nature vs. Louisiana's Oystermen