The coastal communities economies were and still are, tied to the lives of resident fishers, fisheries factory workers, boatbuilders and other industries and workers tied to the sea, all along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Coastal development, shipping, and fishing alongside many different sectors have long been important to life along all of America's waterways.
The over-abundance of seafood and other natural resources, including Oil & Gas, have helped strengthen our entire country's economy. Boatyards and shipwrights have always been a natural and indeed necessary occurrence within these communities. Hundreds of ships and small craft alike have been built to ply these waters in trade.
The traditions of boatbuilding and maritime trade in the coastal region date back to French settlements along the Mississippi gulf coast around 1699. In this region, every manner of vessel has been constructed, from the smallest of fishing vessel to the largest and most formidable American warships, Even many of the petroleum drilling and production platforms that typically dot the horizon offshore can be traced back to the region.
The natural resources of our coast and, even the future of not just our economic livelihoods, but our lives themselves, rely on its safekeeping and effective management.
