NEWSROOM
Alaskans
Help With Louisiana Hurricane Recovery
Travelift To Be Used In Boat Salvage
December 9, 2005
PLAQUEMINES
PARISH – Residents of Valdez, Alaska, are in the spirit
of giving this holiday season –
helping fishermen in Plaquemines Parish get back on the water
by donating a surplus Marine Travelift® to the parish
government.
A Marine Travelift
is a mobile boat hoist, often used by marinas, shipyards, fishing
ports and naval installations – a new, 60-ton unit would
cost between $250,000 and $300,000. Parish officials plan to use
the Travelift
to recover commercial and recreational boats damaged or displaced
by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
It is estimated
that approximately 3,000 commercial and 35,000 to 40,000 recreational
boats are in need of salvage due to the storms. As of Dec. 6,
approximately 206 commercial vessels had been recovered by the
U.S.
Coast Guard. And at least 800 commercial vessels have been salvaged
privately.
“The
Coast Guard is continuing to bring in additional contractors to
help with the recovery effort, but the entire process will take
six to eight months,” said Rusty Gaudé, a marine
extension agent with Louisiana Sea Grant and the Louisiana State
University Agricultural Center. “That timeframe is altogether
too long in order to jump-start the commercial fishing industry.
Thankfully, some of our Sea Grant colleagues in the Northwest
offered us assistance.”
Through the
combined efforts of Gaudé, the Washington and Alaska Sea
Grant programs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Pacific
Coast Congress of Harbormasters (PCCH) and Valdez Port Director
Alan Sorum, the idea of donating the surplus Travelift emerged.
Other agencies and organizations involved in the acquisition include
the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Louisiana
Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, among others. Additionally,
the Alaska Fishing Industry Relief Mission has donated $20,000
toward transportation of the Travelift; PCCH, $1,200; and the
Alaska Sea Grant program is donating a portion of its publication
sales.
The Valdez
City Council approved the Travelift donation at its Dec. 5 meeting.
“The
City of Valdez knows what it’s like to survive a disaster.
During the great Alaskan earthquake and tsunami of 1964, our entire
community was destroyed. We never forgot the generosity others
showed to us in our time of need, so we really wanted to give
something back now,” said Valdez Mayor Bert Cottle. “We
recognize
that getting working boats back in the water is a critical component
of south Louisiana’s economy, and
we’re very pleased to be able to help with that.”
Plaquemines
Parish officials expressed their appreciation for the Travelift.
“We have experienced great devastation in our parish due
to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Parish President Benny
Rousselle. “Out of all the economic sectors affected, the
commercial fishing community has been the hardest hit. Many of
these fishermen have nothing left except their boats. This contribution
from the City of Valdez is vital to the rebuilding of our commercial
fishing economy. I don’t know how to thank them enough.
The value of this donation
is beyond words.”
Since its
establishment in 1968, Louisiana Sea Grant has worked to promote
stewardship of the state’s coastal resources through a combination
of research, education and outreach programs critical to the cultural,
economic and environmental health of Louisiana’s coastal
zone. Louisiana Sea Grant, based at Louisiana State University,
is part of the National Sea Grant Program, a network of 30 universities
in each of the U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states and Puerto
Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands.
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