Shrimp boat gets caught

Cables hanging under the U.S. 90 bridge were being raised as Dean Jackson, captain and owner of Big Daddy shrimp boat, hung a no trespassing sign on his vessel, ending his shrimping season.
The cables, however, were not raised before catching the shrimp boat.
At 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, Jackson was passing under the U.S. 90 bridge in Big Daddy when the boat’s outrigger caught the hanging cables, damaging the vessel.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Jackson said. “I’ve been under that bridge so many times. It scared me to death.”
Jackson reported the incident to the Coast Guard and to Berwick Police Department at 5:15 a.m. Berwick Police Department sent a call out to the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office to respond as well.
According to St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard will complete the official report on the incident. The Coast Guard did not respond to calls about the incident Tuesday and no report has been released at this time.
“There were no signs. It wasn’t something I would have expected, and it tore up the boat,” Jackson said.
“I have to go to the shipyard with this. It’s the only way to get the boat fixed,” Jackson said. “This shuts down the season. Big Daddy won’t be selling shrimp.”
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the spring season for shrimping ended June 28 and the fall season opened Aug.5. A date for a close to the fall season has not been announced yet.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development are currently performing bridge repairs on the U.S. 90 bridge. The project is estimated for completion in early 2021.
The entrance ramp for U.S. 90 westbound at Federal Avenue in Morgan City and the entrance ramp to U.S. 90 eastbound at La. 182 in Berwick closed Sept. 24 to allow crews to perform bridge repairs, cleaning and painting operations, and allowed a staging area for equipment needed to complete the job.
Cables to be used were part of the equipment placed on the La. 182 entrance ramp for use in the repair work.
Since Monday, Oct. 21, the right lane of U.S. 90 eastbound and westbound have been closed to traffic due to the repairs. The road has remained open to regular traffic with a 16-foot lane restriction on oversized loads passing through the work zone. Emergency vehicles have had full access through the area.