Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

  • Collection DOI:
    Principal Investigator:
    Louis M. Kyriakoudes
  • NOAA's Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History documents the experience of people living in Gulf  of Mexico  oil-spill-affected fishing communities. The oral history data complements other social and economic data about the spill collected by NOAA and other governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Interviewee Sort descending Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Edmund Anthony Boudreaux, Jr. Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Edmond Anthony Boudreaux Jr. was born in 1949 to Edmond Boudreaux Sr. and Nita Mae Thomas Boudreaux. He is the third of eight children. He is married to Virginia L. Bertucci Boudreaux, and they have three sons, Edmond Boudreaux III, Brandon Boudreaux, and Marcus Boudreaux. Boudreaux is a 1967 graduate of Notre Dame High School in Biloxi, Mississippi. He was an AT&T service technician from 1973 until 2010, when he retired.

Stephanie Scull-DeArmey , Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Franklin Lance Parker Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Frank Parker is a lifelong commercial fisherman in Biloxi, Mississippi. He was born on July 4, 1973, in Biloxi, Mississippi, to Mr. Olin Boyce Parker (born April 13, 1944, in Pascagoula, Mississippi) and Mrs. Velma Elaine Terry Parker (born January 26, 1945). His father was a fisherman and a furniture refinisher from 1964 to 1999. His father’s family were farmers in the Mississippi Delta. His mother was a homemaker. His mother’s family were watermen, including fishermen, ship captains, and ship pilots.

Stephanie Scull-DeArmey Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
George V. Jackson, III Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

George V. Jackson, III (b. 1957) is a third-generation commercial fisherman working out of St. Bernard, Louisiana. He was born on February 13, 1957, in New Orleans, Louisiana to George Jackson Jr. (born September 28, 1934, in New Orleans) and Odurna Jackson (born December 12, 1937, in New Orleans). His father was a part-time commercial fisherman, concurrently with being a baker and a millwright. In the late 1960s, his father became a full-time commercial fisherman. His father’s family worked at Jackson Brewery in New Orleans and fished.

Barbara Hester St. Bernard Parish, LA NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Gerald William Bosarge Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Gerald William Bosarge was born on November 13, 1934, in Pecan, Mississippi, to Mr. Charles Bosarge and Mrs. Bosarge (born Saksa, in Finland). He is married to Mrs. Harriet Janice Zirlott (born in Coden, Alabama on June 27, 1945). They have two children, Gerald William Bosarge Jr. and Lori Ann Bosarge. At the time of this interview, Mr. Bosarge was retired from commercial fishing, and after forty years of fishing for a living, he currently fishes for fun and sustenance. He is from a multi-generational fishing family, with ancestors who fished on both sides of his family. 

Barbara Hester Moss Point, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Hang Nguyen Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mrs. Hang Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American, the wife of a shrimper, and a resident of East Biloxi, Mississippi. She was the only child of Binh Nguyen and Nhung Nguyen, born in 1968 in Can Tho, South Vietnam. Her father, who passed away in Seattle, Washington in 2009, served in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army). Her mother worked in the home. After the fall of South Vietnam, Mrs. Nguyen’s father was sent to reeducation camp. It was then that her mother had to go to work selling fish, coffee, and fabrics in different places.

Linda VanZandt, Angel Truong Phan Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Henry Martinez Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Henry Martinez is a commercial fisherman in the Louisiana wetlands. He was born on November 25, 1942, in Arabi, Louisiana, to Mr. Felipe Martinez Ortega (born on October 4, 1986, in Garrucha, Spain) and Mrs. Mary Molero Martinez (born on February 2, 1908, on Delacroix Island, Louisiana). His father was a fisherman in Spain and around Delacroix Island. As a young man he was a merchant marine and fisherman. His paternal grandparents were fishermen, and his maternal grandparents were farmers. His mother’s father was a fur trapper.

Barbara Hester St. Bernard Parish, LA NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Hilton Floyd Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Hilton Floyd is a lifelong fisherman on the Gulf Coast in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mr. Hilton Floyd was born on September 15, 1956, in Jacksonville, Florida, to Mr. Hilton Floyd Sr. (born in Mayport, Florida) and Mrs. Helen Cooper Floyd (born in Mayport, Florida). His siblings are two older brothers, three older sisters, and one younger sister. Floyd’s mother was a schoolteacher, and his paternal grandfather was a dredge boat operator. His mother’s family were shrimpers. He is married to Rhonda Olier Floyd (born November 7, 1956, in South Korea).

Barbara Hester Pascagoula, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Hoa Thi Pham Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mrs. Hoa Thi Pham is a Vietnamese-American living in Biloxi, Mississippi, who made nets for a living in her native land, Vietnam.  She was born in 1953 in Duc Pho, South Vietnam. In 1966 she went to live temporarily with her grandfather’s brother in Vung Tau to be protected from the dangerous fighting in her home region. Mrs. Pham’s father grew rice and potatoes on their farm and her mother had a convenience store. Mrs. Pham had one younger brother. She married Mr. Luu Thai, a shrimper who was from her village. Mrs.

Linda VanZandt, Angel Truong Phan Biloxi, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Irvin Eugene “Gene” Stork Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Mr. Irvin Eugene Stork is a retired commercial fisherman. Stork was born on April 23, 1932, in Moss Point, Mississippi, to Mr. Henry W. Stork, a commercial fisherman, and Mrs. Hattie B. Clark Stork. At the time of this interview, Mr. Stork had retired from Dow Chemical Plant and from commercial fishing. He was graduated from high school, after making the All State Basketball team, and he became a captain in the Army during his military service. He enjoys gardening and fishing in his retirement.

Stephanie Scull-DeArmey Pecan, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute
Jennifer M. Buchanan Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History

Jennifer M. Buchanan is an educator at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, serving as the education coordinator. She has been involved in oral history projects, particularly focused on capturing the experiences and knowledge of individuals with a deep understanding of the coastal areas. Buchanan's work involves collaborating with researchers to design and conduct studies to understand significant events and changes in the coastal environment.

Barbara Hester Moss Point, MS NOAA-NMFS, University of Southern Mississippi - Northern Gulf Institute