Surviving a few days in Louisiana without electricity became a harsh reality for thousands of residents the past month.But for some, living without their favorite seafood has been like salt in the wounds. Unfortunately for seafood lovers, the wait will continue while the state’s seafood market rebounds from two hurricanes.During Gustav, many Gulf Coast habitats of fish species were destroyed, causing a minor setback for local seafood markets and restaurants. However, local experts expect that local fishermen and trappers will have production back to normal by early next month.Benny Miller, owner of Louisiana Seafood Exchange, said fishermen are starting to put their businesses back together. The fishing industry was on hold while hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit the Gulf Coast.”They had to secure their equipment before Gustav,” Miller said. “It’s not like they stopped fishing the day the hurricane hit.”Miller said because Ike followed on the heels of Gustav, fishermen faced a longer delay before they put their boats back in the water.Another problem was finding a place to sell the fish, he said. Many of the docks were decimated by the storms, causing some vendors to hold off on business.”The normal impact of the seafood market on the Louisiana economy is $2.6 billion,” said Ashley Roth, associate with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. “The total revenue already lost due to Gustav is $300 million.”Roth said state delegates, which includes members of the Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, will meet with legislators from Washington, D.C., to work out a relief package for local fishermen.  A news release by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said U.S. Commerce Secretary M. Carlos Gutierrez declared the Gulf of Mexico to be a “fishery resource disaster.” This declaration will give assistance to fishermen and make small fishing businesses eligible for certain loans.In the days following Gustav, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals closed local oyster beds, Roth said. The DHH is testing the water and meat of the oyster before they re-open the beds. The lack of oysters is one thing affecting many seafood restaurants.Dustin Loveless, manager at Mike Anderson’s Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar, said he found the same quality and size of seafood from vendors outside the state, but the lack of oysters is a problem.”It has affected our Tuesday and Thursday oyster specials, which has reduced our business on those days,” Loveless said.Bill Pizzolato, owner of Tony’s Seafood, said business has been strong, and the only product they are waiting on is crabs.”Many crabbers have just started to put their traps back out,” Pizzolato said.Jimbo’s Seafood also took a punch as a result of the hurricanes.”We’ve definitely seen a negative impact,” said Theresa Guerin, Jimbo’s Seafood employee. “We still don’t have any blue crabs or oysters. We are hoping to get some in soon.”Roth said prices will remain constant because the state’s market has to compete with import venders. Miller seems hopeful when it comes to the seafood supply. After Hurricane Katrina there was an abundance of fish and shrimp.”The storm helped to put in bait fish,” Miller said. “This is the time of year when they migrate into the marsh anyway. The storm just got it started early.”Greg Lutz, aquaculture specialist with the AgCenter, said the affects of the hurricane on the Louisiana crawfish population is hard to tell.”Crawfish start to lay eggs between mid-August to October,” Lutz said. “The problem is that there is too much water, causing the vegetation to rot. Farmers have no way to drain the fields because of both high prices of diesel fuel and the fact that surrounding ditches are full as well.”Lutz said crawfish fishermen will not know the state of next year’s crawfish crop until late November to December.Louisiana has still seen major problems with the seafood market, despite the fact the industry seems to be recovering nicely.Though the local supply of fish may have been temporarily reduced, restaurants have import vendors and frozen seafood. Fresh, local products are the only thing really affected by the hurricanes, Miller said, and they should be back soon.”As a whole there shouldn’t be any lasting problems,” he said. “There may be some individual companies that will have a rough and longer time getting back, but the industry as a whole will be fine.”—-Contact Steven Powell at [email protected]