Sunday, April 12, 2015
"Vanishing Pearls" shows how the oyster industry on the Louisiana coast reels from the BP oil spill
“Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe a la Hache”, by
Nailah Jefferson, depicts the loss of livelihood of oyster “farmers” on the
southern Louisiana coast and bayous after the BP Horizon oil spill in
2010. This was when the BP chairman "wanted his life back."
The company has tried to pressure the fisherman with a
“release of all claims” strategy (similar to employment severance) where the
fishermen lose the right to sue in the future if further damages are
found. Then families have also been
caught in a “Catch 22” trap trying to get financing to get their businesses
back.
The families in the town also say that they will lose the
chance to show their teenage children their way of lie, which will be lost.
Much of the film is told from the viewpoint of businessman
David Byron Encalade.
The film also makes the point that the community came back
all right from Hurricane Katrina, but not from the oil spill. The company also apparently says that the
volume of oil is a “drop in the bucket”.
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