Small Business Impacts Associated with the 2010 Oil Spill and Drilling Moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico by Impact Assessment, Inc. La Jolla, CA 92037 for under contract number SBAHQ-11-M-0210 Release Date: November 2013 This report was developed under a contract with the Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, and contains information and analysis that were reviewed by officials of the Office of Advocacy. However, the final conclusions of the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Advocacy. Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ ii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. v List of Maps ................................................................................................................................... vi List of Acronyms .......................................................................................................................... vii 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Essential Background ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Project Goal and Objectives ................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Research Hypotheses ............................................................................................................ 3 1.4 The Study Counties, Parishes, and Communities ................................................................. 4 1.5 Research Methods ................................................................................................................. 5 1.6 Organization of the Report ................................................................................................... 7 2.0 Overview of Study Parishes, Counties, and Communities ....................................................... 9 2.1 Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana ............................................................................................... 9 2.1.1 Houma .......................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Lafourche Parish, Louisiana ............................................................................................... 14 2.2.1 Galliano ........................................................................................................................ 16 2.2.2 Golden Meadow ........................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Jefferson Parish, Louisiana ................................................................................................. 17 2.3.1 Barataria-Lafitte ........................................................................................................... 20 2.3.2 Grand Isle ..................................................................................................................... 21 2.4 Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana ........................................................................................... 22 2.4.1 Boothville-Venice ........................................................................................................ 25 2.4.2 Buras-Triumph ............................................................................................................. 27 2.5 St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana ............................................................................................. 28 2.5.1 St. Bernard ................................................................................................................... 30 2.6 Harrison County, Mississippi ............................................................................................. 31 2.6.1 Biloxi ............................................................................................................................ 33 2.6.2 Pass Christian ............................................................................................................... 34 2.7 Mobile County, Alabama .................................................................................................... 36 2.7.1 Bayou La Batre ............................................................................................................ 38 2.8 Baldwin County, Alabama .................................................................................................. 39 2.8.1 Bon Secour ................................................................................................................... 42 2.8.2 Orange Beach-Gulf Shores .......................................................................................... 42 3.0 The Oil and Gas Industry ........................................................................................................ 45 3.1 Small Business Activity and the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry in the Gulf of Mexico .... 45 3.2 Community-Level Engagement in the Region's Offshore Oil and Gas Industry ............... 48 3.3 Industry Trends Prior to the Spill ....................................................................................... 49 3.4 The Moratorium and Related Context ................................................................................ 50 ii 3.5 Effects of the Moratorium ................................................................................................... 52 4.0 The Commercial Fishing Industry .......................................................................................... 59 4.1 Commercial Fisheries in the Study Region ........................................................................ 59 4.2 The Seafood Processing and Distribution Sectors .............................................................. 66 4.3.1 Bayou La Batre, Alabama ............................................................................................ 70 4.3.2 Biloxi and Pass Christian, Mississippi ......................................................................... 70 4.3.3 Golden Meadow-Galliano, Louisiana .......................................................................... 72 4.3.4 Barataria-Lafitte and Grand Isle, Louisiana ................................................................. 73 4.3.5 St. Bernard Area, Louisiana ......................................................................................... 74 4.3.6 Bon Secour, Alabama .................................................................................................. 76 4.3.7 Buras-Triumph and Boothville-Venice, Louisiana ...................................................... 76 4.4 Regional Fisheries Trends and Conditions Prior to the Spill .............................................. 77 4.5 Initial Effects of the Oil Spill and Clean-up ....................................................................... 82 4.6 Common Adaptive Strategies ............................................................................................. 94 5.0 The Marine-Related Tourist Industry ................................................................................... 100 5.1 Marine-Related Tourism ................................................................................................... 100 5.2 Tourism and the Study Communities ............................................................................... 102 5.2.1 Grand Isle and Barataria-Lafitte, Louisiana ............................................................... 102 5.2.2 St. Bernard, Louisiana ................................................................................................ 103 5.2.3 Galliano and Golden Meadow, Louisiana.................................................................. 103 5.2.4 Houma, Louisiana ...................................................................................................... 104 5.2.5 Buras-Triumph and Boothville-Venice, Louisiana .................................................... 104 5.2.6 Orange Beach-Gulf Shores and Bon Secour, Alabama ............................................. 105 5.2.7 Bayou La Batre, Alabama .......................................................................................... 105 5.2.8 Biloxi and Pass Christian, Mississippi ....................................................................... 105 5.3 Regional Trends Prior to the Spill .................................................................................... 106 5.4 Initial Effects of the Oil Spill ............................................................................................ 108 5.5 Adaptive Responses to the Spill ....................................................................................... 112 6.0 Summary Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 116 6.1 Summary Overview of Pre-Existing Challenges .............................................................. 116 6.2 Summary Overview of Oil Spill and Moratorium Impacts .............................................. 117 6.3 Summary Overview of Adaptive Responses ...................................................................