They threw a one-two punch with high winds and storm surge, leaving wide swaths of damage to communities across south Louisiana.

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike were thorns in the side of the state's fishing industry.

"It's sad when two hurricanes come back to back, and wind will mess up your house, and flooding might damage your boat and inhibit your ability to go out and catch shrimp," said marina owner Ray Griffin.

Griffin has seen the effects, from the torn up docks at his business to boats further south that took a beating.

"Whether they're tied down on the docks, and then the water comes higher than folks anticipated, it'll pop some of the lines and bolts will drift away," Griffin said. 

The problems are widespread and are taking a toll on the industry.

"Coming on the heels of what we went through three years ago, and having two storms back to back has been tremendous," said Mark Schexnayder, who is a coastal advisor at Louisiana State University.

Schexnayder has been studying the hurricanes' damaging effects on commercial fishermen.
"Just the lost revenue alone, and the infrastructure damage was somewhere in the order of $150 - $200 million for these two storms coastwide."

A fresh haul of crabs in Lafitte today is a good sign, but the trouble is easy to identify on the major waterway through town.

Boat traffic on Bayou Barataria is usually very busy, but these days, some fishermen say they're simply staying off the water because of concerns about too much debris.

And over the last month, activity was frozen as the storms passed through, putting a pinch on fishermen's pocketbooks.

You could see the effects too.

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"The average person may see a little bit higher prices. They may have a harder time getting product. Those kinds of things,” Schexnayder said. "It's hundreds of millions of dollars per year easy, just in revenue alone. And that brings money into the state.”

It won't be easy, but those who depend on the water say they'll keep fighting.

"It's definitely been a challenge,” Griffin said. “But people down here in Lafitte and people in South Louisiana have done it before, and we'll do it again, and get back to where we need to be."