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A constant comment about St. Bernard is the large physical size of the parish yet the lack of dry land. Yes, the Parish is linear with a dry land depth in many areas of less than a mile or so from the river levee. This follows the natural building of land the river floods did over the last five thousand years or so. In many ways our parish has historic resources that were based on wetlands, waterways, and subsurface oil and gas, all valuable gifts of nature. Can we better use this resource? The answer is yes in many ways. First focus on our maintenance of the wetlands and oppose any more man made destruction of this precious resource. The central wetlands, once known for excellent duck hunting, are now a marginal area for waterfowl hunting. The weather and natural production of aquatic feed are prime influencers for a good hunting season. Controlling the water quality in the central wetlands could insure more productivity. Managing our wetlands and coastal waterways are as well critical for a more prosperous fisheries future for St. Bernard. Aquaculture is actually being done on a large scale by our oyster fishermen. It is not a new technique and actually they have been farming oysters for a century or more, not just wild harvesting. Can we do anything to help our shrimpers? First developing a source of attainable funding for the fisherman’s boats, equipment, and initial preseason costs. We need to improve the fresh seafood sales with a more strategically located retail market like the shrimp lot in Westwego. There is a need for more local processing and cold storage so there is more of a flexible marketing timeline. Creative funding is necessary for these expenses. Our share of tourists' revenues in the region needs to increase through seafood value added products, like peeled shrimp and finished quality seafood dishes. We can do more but we must have a strategic plan with attainable goals. A suggestion heard during the campaign period was to create a constant supply of freshwater in the forty arpent canal. This would help with developing acreage of crawfish and fishponds that could locally supply Parish needs. Could we see something like boutique rice farming? What about more poultry and duck farms for egg production and fresh meat. Let us not forget historic Creole tomato farming and other truck farm crops. We have land that could be used for that purpose. Can you imagine a seafood restaurant at Shell Beach capitalizing on tourists and weekend fishermen?
