MSm 621 Edmond Boudreaux, Jr. - Gulf Coast Seafood: Challenges Faced

Edmond Boudreaux's family came to Biloxi in 1914 to work in the seafood factories. In this episode, he shares his family's long history in the seafood industry and how his father would work in the factory as child before and after attending school each day. Growing up on "The Point" in East Biloxi, Boudreaux never thought of his family as poor. He recalls how he and his brothers would play and fish in the nearby marshes and bayous. According to Boudreaux, all people living on the Mississippi Sound develop a connection to the water. He explains how those ties remain constant, even as changes in technology have resulted in fewer people actually working in the seafood industry. Over the years, the Gulf Coast fishery has weathered challenges from hurricanes, floods, and pollution. Boudreaux discusses those challenges and how recent events have affected the livelihoods of Mississippi fishermen.