|
|
Article: Small fishing town nets big business offshore. (Bayou La Batre).
- Article from:
- Marine Log
- Article date:
- March 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
A top the gray-green hull of an overturned offshore service vessel, Russell "Rusty" Bosarge surveys Boconco shipyard, an enterprise that employs many of his working-age family members and some area craftsmen.
"It's been a real blessing to my family," says Bosarge, who launched the shipyard in Bayou La Batre in 1998 after serving as a missionary in Utah and New Orleans.
But while Bayou La Batre proclaims itself as "The Seafood Capital of Alabama," it's oil and gas, not shrimp and redfish, that are driving business at Boconco. It expects a very busy year, churning out roughly one OSV per month.
Traditionally, local commercial fishermen have built ...