Vietnamese Fishermen Hit Hard by Oil Slick

The Vietnamese community has been hit hard by the Gulf Coast oil slick. Today they mobilized, seeking answers from public officials on how to aid their community during this crisis and beyond. According to Virginia Brisley from SEEDCO Financial, who is working to put together a fisheries assistance resource guide, nearly half of all fishermen who have been affected by the Gulf Coast oil slick are Vietnamese.

This morning at the Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation on the east side of New Orleans, the community heard from EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe, U.S. Rep. Joseph Cao, Louisiana State Senator David Vitter, and local government officials. They attempted to ease tensions by vowing continued support and engagement in the community.

Deputy Mayor of Public Safety, Lt. Col. Jerry Sneed, noted that government agencies need to understand how the oil slick impacts not only the Vietnamese community, or the general fishing community at large, but all of New Orleans. He called for presenting data on the impacts to BP.

As fisheries are starting to close and the economic impacts of the oil slick begin to spread, the Vietnamese fishing community, like so many others in the Gulf Coast, still goes without clear answers on how to support themselves and their families.

This is just another example of how the dirty energy economy is threatening the livelihood of diverse communities. There is a better way. We need to start investing in a clean energy economy now so that this will never happen again.

Tell President Obama and Senator Harry Reid to pass a strong climate bill and end the expansion of offshore drilling.