A Dying Industry
Oyster Fishing on Lake Borgne (2009)

George Barisich is a second-generation commercial fisherman in St. Bernard Parish, La. Working in an industry that was already struggling to compete with cheaper, imported seafood, Barisich lost three of his five boats to Hurricane Katrina. He saved his oyster boat and shrimp boat, which his father, a Croatian immigrant, built from local cypress trees.

Little recovery assistance has come since Katrina. The $4 billion state industry was promised $53 million in aid in the form of $20,000 block grants, but after suffering a $750,000 business loss, Barisich calls the grant "a drop in the bucket." Many fishermen have gone out of business, but Barisich hangs on.