Interviewer: Preetam Prakash

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Mr. Sevel had been referred to me by a couple who were involved in the seafood industry in Bayou La Batre, and with whom I had conducted an oral history interview a few months prior. They had described Mr. Sevel as someone who had a long history in the shrimping industry and who could give me some insight into this industry’s development along the MS Gulf Coast. I contacted Mr. Sevel in December 2010 but was unable to meet with him before I left the area for the holidays. When I returned I got in touch with him again and we arranged to meet on his boat in the Pass Christian harbor.

Mr. Sevel had been born in Laurel, MS in 1953. His father, who hailed from a shrimping family on the coast, remained in Laurel for a few years after Mr. Sevel was born, but had soon moved back to coast. Mr. Sevel had lived in Gulfport on the MS Gulf Coast since he was 2 years old and said that he had gotten his start in the seafood business when he was 5. He had done a little bit of oystering when he was younger but had mostly focused on shrimping throughout his career. After operating his own shrimping boat for a number of years, Mr. Sevel started up his own wholesale seafood business in 1993 and had a fleet of 5 boats working under him. His plant was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since then, Mr. Sevel and his wife have worked on a single boat. Mr. Sevel discussed what he believed to have been some of the impacts of increased regulations, in-migration to the area, and other factors which had affected the local seafood industry over the years. He also spoke about the impacts of the 2010 Gulf oil spill and the potential effects that it might have on the future of the industry.