FEMA halts removal of beached vessels

<snip>
The Federal Emergency Management Agency this week blocked federal contractors on the Gulf Coast from removing hundreds of uninsured boats that remain beached from Alabama to Louisiana by Hurricane Katrina.

FEMA officials said the shutdown was to allow agency lawyers time to resolve several sticky legal questions. The primary issue is whether to charge each vessel owner a fee of up to $60,000 for moving their boat, federal officials said.
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http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1131717054152680.xml&coll=3&thispage=1

As if the shrimpers and fishermen of the Gulf Coast have not been through enough FEMA wants to CHARGE THEM to remove their boats. The great majority of these people have lost their homes, cars, etc. So where does FEMA expect this money to come from?

Being from South Alabama, I am infuriated by this. Shrimpers and fishermen work hard, long, dangerous hours for little pay. And now this!
:banghead:

times as this?

Oh, wait - they did.

Leave it to a Repug government to want to turn a profit on the misery and misfortune of the American people.

"the hundreds of uninsured boats" in the first paragraph.

I don't feel like enduring another flamefest so I'll just keep my comments about not having insurance to myself.

and very few shrimpers could afford insurance back then (1970's-80's). Lord knows what it costs now. It's a "way of life" one is either born into or gets a strong calling for...very very hard work, 24/7, but if you dig it, it's hard to even consider doing something else for a living. So, they do it, they can't afford insurance, they hope for the best...I got the impression that if you did get insurance, you would basically be working to pay for insurance...

Or should we just import from the farms in Thailand?

I vacation on Hunting Island at least twice a year. We fish, cast net for shrimp and crab for blue crab with our crab nets . And we always go to the wonderful Gay Seafood Company for shrimp, oyster and scallops! Mmm! I've got some shrimp in the freezer now! If I were to move from Athens, GA, I would move to Beaufort!

still at it! I'm in the Ozarks now and it is 100% gorgeous, but fresh shrimp, crab, oysters...dribble drool slobber - sure do miss it. My favorite "sport" is crabbin', man! Tie a big bolt and a funky chicken neck on a piece of twine and throw it in and wait for that little pullpull yankyank and walk that baby on in, scoop him into your net - nothin' finer. OH YEAH, and then take him home and eat his ass!!
In answer to aquart's question, well, I guess this country could live without shrimpers and the glorious bounty they haul in from the depths, but damn, it would be a great loss to our national palate and it would be the end of a unique American "subculture"...my shrimper friends were crazy, proud, hard-workin' "outlaw" types, y'know? A very special breed, indeed!
*sigh* guess I'll go have a turkey sandwich for dinner...

from someone that has obviously been fishin the right way...let's go frog giggin sometime...

it's kinda uhhhh out of my league?

you would have no idea what shimpers, oystermen, fishermen...etc. go through to make a living. Insurance is a dream to most of them. Not flaming, but I would not have a clue what crop insurance would cost.

time to slap round bush again...aren`t those red states? isn`t there an election coming up next year?

They should at least contact the owners first.

in South Bama tells me, most boat owners know where their boats are. They did not wash off to far. The problem is that some are beached pretty far from the water, and even if you could get them back to the water, they are no longer sea worthy.

I have heard some great things from the South Bama area about the shrimpers and processors. They are all working together to get the industry back up and running as soon as possible, of course, that was before FEMA decided to throw this monkey wrench into the picture!!!

I need a lesson on how FEMA is set up to operate, seems lately that they have been charging a lot of people for the help that was provided, or not provided in some cases.

needs a lesson in how FEMA is set up to operate!! Damn that pack of clueless ghouls one hundred thousand times.
Please keep us posted on how the shrimpers fare down there. They are one independent, ornery bunch, and I bet they find a way to make a stand against these slimey heartless bastards.
Yeah, Trent Lott's pretty hot under the collar right now, maybe he could make a play on this?

And, while you're at it, fix the damn boats as well. Where the hell do you think your shrimp, fish and other seafood come from anyway? Hew much could this cost? A tiny fraction of a week of Iraq spending most likely.
:grr:

China, Vietnam, Korea..etc.

Have to save money on the cleanup to preserve the tax cuts for the rich and make room for more tax cuts for the obscenely wealthy - so make those uninsured shrimpers and fishermen PAY and drive them intentionally into bankruptcy.

It is almost as if the GOP run govt is TRYING to push these southern voters to realize that perhaps voting the way the church says - due to gay marraige and abortion - really, really isn't wise anymore. Folks tend to begin to wake up when it is their own livelihood and security (and that of their community) is directly threatened by the policies of the (GOP run) govt.