by Kerri Callais
There is no feeling quite like idling down Bayou La Loutre just as the sun starts to come up . Watching the world come to life as the day begins , just before the heat of the summer starts to bear down . Although I ' m heading out to enjoy a day on the water , all around me are shrimpers , marina owners , oystermen , crabbers , and charter captains out making a living for their family . As I continue down the bayou , I see shrimp boats preparing to make a bait run , and pass huge mountains of crushed rock waiting to be spread on an oyster lease in hopes of yielding a respectable harvest .
I know I ' m surrounded by fishermen , on the docks and out in the water , who have already put in more work as the day breaks than most do by sundown . And I know not one of them would have it any other way . It is what their fathers and grandfathers did before them , and it is what they will teach their children . It is the culture and heritage on which St . Bernard was formed , and one that will be clung to desperately even as the world changes around us . There ' s no denying we have something special here - the sweet spot , where the mighty Mississippi and the salty waters of the Gulf mix to give us one of the most productive brackish estuaries in the world . It is why 63 % of oysters harvested in Louisiana come from St . Bernard ' s waters . It is why our finfish limits are the envy of anglers around the nation . It is why you can reel in a speckled trout , a redfish , a bass , or a drum on any given cast . It is why people from around the world come here to fish our waters and eat our seafood .
As I move from bay to bay catching my limit of specks in just a couple of hours , I ' m also constantly reminded of the rest of the story . Many of the narrow canals I can remember from my childhood are now open water . Coastal erosion , sea level rise , subsidence , and the conversion of our hearty saltwater marsh to a vulnerable freshwater marsh has done a heartbreaking amount of damage to our home .
It is a story that we have to keep telling . Talking about solving the problem , planning , designing , engineering , none of that is good enough anymore . We need shovels in the ground ; we need to start piping sediment and building land . We will no longer be out of sight and out of mind . We have something special here , and it is worth saving .
As I head back to the dock , I am reminded that we sometimes take it all for granted . We get to enjoy this paradise every day , and many don ' t even realize what ' s right here in their backyards . How many locals have not experienced all that St . Bernard has to offer ? How many tourists come to New Orleans every day and don ' t realize you can drive just a few miles and escape to a different world ? Come take in our natural beauty , charter a trip to fish our waters , spend time with some of the most genuine people you ' ll ever meet . Our door is open ... come Enjoy St . Bernard .
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August 2016 www . marshandbayou . com