November 3, 2023 — The U.S. state of Mississippi is set to dole out USD 6.6 million (EUR 6.2 million) in financial relief to commercial fishermen, seafood dealers, aquaculture harvesters, and live-bait fisheries impacted by the 2019 Mississippi Bonnet Carré Spillway disaster.
The spillway diverts floodwater away from populated areas and into the Mississippi sound, but the surge of freshwater can be damaging to ocean life. Officials believe the fresh-water release severely damaged commercial fisheries when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway twice in 2019, leading to millions of dollars in lost revenue from lower oyster, shrimp, crab, and finfish landings.