Mississippi finalizes plans for $21M in fishery relief
April 22, 2021
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BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is finalizing its plans for allocating $21 million in federal relief for fishing industries harmed by the 2019 opening of a Mississippi River spillway in Louisiana.
The money is supposed to go to businesses that were hurt by the spillway opening, as well as improving oyster harvesting in Mississippi and looking for ways to offset harms from future openings of the Bonnet Carre Spillway north of New Orleans.
The spillway sends large pulses of freshwater through Lake Pontchartrain and into the Mississippi Sound, disrupting the balance between freshwater and saltwater in coastal estuaries. That in turn can kill oysters, shrimp and other marine species and cause algae blooms that close beaches.