The state of Mississippi is now accepting applications for financial relief from oyster and shrimp harvesters impacted by the 2020 Bonnet Carré Spillway disaster.
Commercial shrimp and wild oyster license holders are the latest to receive federal financial compensation for the 2019 incident, which had a devastating impact on Mississippi’s commercial fisheries. The disaster took place during flooding of the Mississippi river in 2019. To alleviate the overflow and divert floodwater away from population centers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened up the spillway twice, sending a surge of freshwater into the ocean.
While the opening of the spillway had its desired effect, the sudden flood of freshwater resulted in mass die-off events for multiple species that depend on saltwater – including shrimp and oysters.
The federal government eventually acknowledged that a disaster occurred, with the U.S. Department of Commerce awarding USD 88 million (EUR 80.6 million) in financial support to Southern states impacted by the disaster. Mississippi was awarded USD 21 million (EUR 19.3 million) of the funding.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources has been distributing its funding via the Mississippi Bonnet Carré Spillway Fisheries Disaster Recovery Program since 2023; already, the state has sent out checks to commercial fishermen, seafood dealers, aquaculture harvesters, and processors impacted by the 2019 incident.
Now, the program is accepting applications from commercial shrimp and oyster harvesters. According to MDMR, the spillway disaster caused brown shrimp relative abundance to drop more than 80 percent, while the commercial on-bottom commercial oyster harvest was closed for years. NOAA Fisheries allocated USD 3 million (EUR 2.6 million) in funding specifically for shrimp and oyster fisheries.
The application period opened 2 May and will remain open for 60 days. Applicants must be Mississippi residents and be able to document that they were licensed oyster or shrimp harvesters in 2019 or 2020.
