the open water. reporter: henry began oystering again in february for first time after the oil spill, and he says for the first year the oyster beds are behaving differently. it does not seem like there are a lot of baby oysters. no, there is no baby oysters and that is what is scary. this should be full, full of oysters the size of your fingernail all over this thing. reporter: the larvae usually grow and the shells of the mature oysters, but they are not growing in this area. if you don t have these oysters, you will be out of business. reporter: oystermen like henry, their lively hood depends on this industry recovering. not only an impact of the oyster industry, but also in the beginning of the shrimping season closing all of the waters, so the beginning of this
do, whatsoever, with my program. i mean, i must say, it s a public relations disaster, but it s not on my watch. i ve got to deal with the fishermen, the shrimpers, the oystermen, the very people you re talking about here this evening. i m with you on that. but you see, mr. feinberg, here s the thing. you ask for trust from these fishermen. you say, look, i ve got to trust i can t just go on your word. i ve got to see documentary evidence. that the trust isn t enough. yet, of course, they re out there now, having to trust bp. there won t be another disaster like this. can you offer them any kind of comfort the other way, that there isn t going to be another explosion and more problems to their livelihoods? piers, i can t do more than what i can do. all i can do, and it s not much, i must tell you, for a lot of these people, money is no substitute for a lost heritage, six, seven generation fishermen. it is a serious tragedy. all i can do is provide under
you know, that s not i ve got enough problems of my own without worrying about transocean, that has nothing to do, whatsoever, with my program. i mean, i must say, it s a public relations disaster, but it s not on my watch. i ve got to deal with the fishermen, the shrimpers, the oystermen, the very people you re talking about here this evening. i m with you on that. but you see, mr. feinberg, here s the thing. you ask for trust from these fishermen. you say, look, i ve got to trust i can t just go on your word. i ve got to see documentary evidence. that the trust isn t enough. yet, of course, they re out there now, having to trust bp. there won t be another disaster like this. can you offer them any kind of comfort the other way, that there isn t going to be another explosion and more problems to their livelihoods? piers, i can t do more than what i can do. all i can do, and it s not much, i must tell you, for a lot of these people, money is no substitute for a lost heritage,
still tar balls washing up on the beach in alabama? the tar balls are a very visual example that this oil spill is largely out of sight but should not be out of mind. there s still oil in the environment. we re also out in marshes with oystermen and shrimpers and looking at the impacts of this oil there. you know, many people also don t realize 40% of all the wetlands in the lower 48 states exist along the coast of louisiana and those have been declining for decades. it was already an impacted environment. this oil spill just added insult to injury. it s making a tough situation worse for some of those folks. phillipe, thank you for continuing to cover this story for us. cnn special correspondent phillipe cousteou from grand isle, louisiana. stay with us to hear how the government s top officials respond to the concerns along the gulf coast. for alicia jackson, it s personal, she grew up in louisiana.
accounting. i ll take trip tickets. i ll take other evidence of what you have been how you have been damaged. i m agreeing with you. those are the people that ought to be helped. i ve helped thousands of them so far. and they re still how do you feel how do you feel about transocean awarding executives bonuses after this incident? you know, that s not i ve got enough problems of my own without worrying about transocean, that has nothing to do, whatsoever, with my program. i mean, i must say, it s a public relations disaster, but it s not on my watch. i ve got to deal with the fishermen, the shrimpers, the oystermen, the very people you re talking about here this evening. i m with you on that. but you see, mr. feinberg, here s the thing. you ask for trust from these fishermen. you say, look, i ve got to trust i can t just go on your word. i ve got to see documentary evidence. that the trust isn t enough. yet, of course, they re out