BP subcontractor hiring out-of-work fishermen for boom deployment off the Louisiana coast

BP subcontractor hiring fishermen for cleanup

SHELL BEACH, La. (AP — A subcontractor for BP PLC is hiring unemployed fishermen for a boom deployment off the Louisiana coast.

Oil Mop LLC, which specializes in oil cleanups, plans to have fishermen show up at Hopedale on Sunday, where they would be put into groups and sent out to place boom across wetlands that border upon Breton Sound.

Earl Norton, an oyster lugger worker, says crews are going to be paid $38 to $48 an hour. He says it’s better than sitting at home, like he did after Hurricane Katrina.

Shrimp boat deckhand Ricky John says the long term effects of the spill worry him. He says he thinks the shrimping outlook will be bleak for years to come.

John says there are plenty of fishermen but BP doesn’t have enough boom as the oil creeps closer to shore.