Multigenerational fisherfolk are on the frontlines of the gas export boom
Tucked away on the western edge of Louisiana’s Gulf Coast is the small, rural fishing community of Cameron Parish. For generations, families here have sustained themselves from the seas. Now, their way of life is being threatened as the federal government greenlights an explosion of sprawling facilities built to send a type of methane gas called liquified natural gas, or LNG, overseas in huge tanker ships.
The rapid expansion of LNG export facilities in and around Cameron Parish has transformed this once-idyllic coastal community into an industrial hub, imposing severe economic and environmental harm on local residents and fishers. One source is Venture Global, which has been exporting LNG from its Cameron Parish Calcasieu Ship Channel facility — commonly called CP1 — since 2022. In just a few years, the community has suffered dramatic impacts.
“Ever since the liquefied natural gas plant began operations, my health has deteriorated significantly. I have developed persistent burns, sores on my head, and other health issues,” says Carla and Mervin B. Mallett, commercial fisherfolk in Cameron, Louisiana, and members of Fisherman Involved in Sustaining Our Heritage, or FISH.
Our shrimp business has suffered tremendously. Our local catch has diminished so much it costs more to fish than we earn after expenses. The decline has forced us to sell our boat and seek work in different fields, a challenging transition at our age.
Carla and Mervin Mallett, commercial fisherfolk
Unfortunately, federal regulators continue to treat Cameron Parish as a sacrifice zone. In June 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized Venture Global to build yet another export facility—called Calcasieu Pass 2 or CP2 in the heart of Cameron. CP2 is located a stone’s throw from the CP1 facility and poses significant additional risks to the surrounding community and ecosystem. Impacted commercial fishers and landowners are now challenging the federal government’s rubber-stamping of CP2 in a battle to save their community and way of life.
CP2 will cause irreparable damage to Cameron Parish’s historic fishing industry, the culture around this way of life, and a vital part of the economy in Southwest Louisiana. These facilities impact local waterways by disrupting wildlife, polluting waters, and crowding ship traffic. Commercial fishing in the area is already teetering. Since CP1 began operations, local fishers have reported dramatic annual catch reductions. Some fishers have seen their catches fall by half.
A once-idyllic coastal community
Fishers and community members of Cameron Parish are raising alarms about the damage Venture Global and the LNG industry are doing to their community and way of life.
Here are some of the Malletts’ fellow members of FISH from Cameron Parish.
Travis Dardar
- Indigenous fisherman of Cameron
- Founder of FISH
“Fossil fuel companies moved LNG projects into the region and turned our fishing community upside down. An LNG project was proposed and built just 300 feet from my house and caused vibrations so intense they knocked pictures off my wall. My family was driven from our home.”
Photo by Susanne Wong
Lerlene Rodrigue
- Multigenerational fisherwoman of Cameron
- Member of FISH
“I live in Cameron, Louisiana, and I’m here to stop LNG. It has totally destroyed our community. Born and raised there. Memories are all gone. All you see is a plant when you open the door. It’s not a place I want to be anymore.”
Anthony “Tad” Theriot
- Fishers and dock manager
- Member of FISH
“We’re routinely seeing less and less catch. LNG has polluted our waters and disrupted the wildlife. The catch in the Gulf is the same, but the inshore fishers are catching significantly less. Paperwork doesn’t lie. The shrimp just do not want to come in because of the LNG projects.”
Photo shows Tad “dropping the bag,” which happens when a net has so few shrimp that it’s not worth sorting through and instead is thrown straight back into the water.
Melissa Richard
- Third generation shrimper
- Dock and shrimp house manager
- Member of FISH
“I worry often because when tank trucks come rolling out of the plant driveway, I can feel my desk and ground beneath my feet rumbling.
There is no win for people like us. I’m 55, my husband is 63. What career would we be able to start over with at our age, with no experience in anything but what they stole from us? I guess our only hope would be if they considered how much they already ruined for us and stop any further damage.”
Stopping the next carbon bomb
In November 2024, FERC issued an order temporarily blocking construction of CP2 while FERC staff prepares a supplemental study of the project’s cumulative air quality and emissions impacts. Although this order provides Cameron Parish with a temporary reprieve, the legal battle is just getting started.
The supplemental study is supposed to make CP2 more legally durable — not cause FERC to seriously reconsider the harms it will inflict. In fact, FERC essentially doubled down on a litany of errors and failures to protect the community.
The order follows a request for rehearing filed by Better Bayou, Fishermen Involved in Sustaining Our Heritage, other impacted commercial fishers and landowners, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club in September 2024. It highlighted the significant errors in FERC’s authorization of the CP2 export facility.
SELC’s legal challenge remains pending while the environmental impact analysis is being conducted.