"I'd rather face another Katrina"

It's remarkable that within the space of one decade we're now on our third horrifying trauma which we feel compelled to watch unfold on a 24 hour schedule to both satisfy and perpetually renew our rage at events beyond our control. It is even more remarkable that each new trauma brings a seemingly higher order of magnitude than its predecessor.

"This isn't going to cripple us, it's going to totally kill us for at least this year and -- what's even scarier -- maybe for several years to come, " said Robert Campo, of Campo's Shell Beach Marina. "How are we going to pay our bills? Where do we get the money for the mortgage? How do we pay the utilities to keep the lights on?

"What the hell do we do to survive now that all of a sudden none of us can fish?"

Help may be on the way. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham, said the state today will announce a program that would provide funding to commercial fishers, boat captains, marina owners and others who have been shut out from their livelihoods by the closures. He said the payments would be long-term to cover the spill and its aftermath.

But marina owners and fishermen wondered about the long-term impact.

Campo's has been a New Orleans fishing and cultural landmark for more than 100 years, a period in which the only closures were for Christmas Day and hurricanes. The marina and Shell Beach community has been wiped out by storms three times and moved from its original location on the Lake Borgne shoreline when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet. Each time the community and marina rebuilt.

Campo said the spill is a more serious hurdle.

"Katrina put us out of business for three months, but what do we do if we're out of business for a year or more?" he said. "I know how to rebuild and keep going after hurricanes. I don't know how to deal with this. I'd rather face another Katrina."