Cuc Huynh
Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Oral History
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.
Stephanie Scull-DeArmey
Linda VanZandt
Cuc Huynh is a Vietnamese-American shrimper and tuna fisherman, living in New Orleans East. Mr. Cuc Huynh was born in 1964, one of nine children, near Phu Hai in Binh Thuan Province, South Vietnam. His father’s name was Tich Huynh and his mother’s name was Em Thi Phan. Tich Huynh served as a soldier in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army). Mr. Huynh learned to fish from his father when he was thirteen years old. His mother bought and sold fish in town. After the Communist takeover in 1975, Mr. Huynh quit school to fish for food and survival. In 1979, he and his father escaped Vietnam by boat, leaving their family behind. After being turned away from Indonesia, they landed in Pulau Tengah, Malaysia, where Mr. Huynh’s father died from high blood pressure. After fifteen months in Pulau Tengah, Mr. Huynh stayed two months in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before finally settling in New Orleans, Louisiana. In New Orleans, Mr. Huynh first worked as a welder and at Schwegmann’s Grocery Store. In 1986 he began working as a deckhand on a tuna boat, then as captain on a friend’s boat, and purchased his own boat, Kim Thanh II, in 1995, from which he continued to fish for tuna at the time of the interview.
Scope and Content Note:
He describes growing up and fishing in Binh Thuan, Vietnam; father as S. Vietnamese Army soldier; mother bought and sold fish in town; fishing for squid; quitting school after Communist takeover to fish for survival; escape from Vietnam without family in 1979; fall of Saigon; impact of Communist takeover on family; journey from Vietnam to Malaysia; rejected by Indonesia; father?s death on Pulau Tengah; moving to New Orleans; ESL classes; jobs welding and in Schwegmann?s Grocery; shrimping in Louisiana; deckhand and tuna fisherman; buying own boat; price fluctuation of shrimp; BP oil spill impact; Hurricane Katrina; trouble with Vessels of Opportunity Program; refusing to let son go into fishing; annual testing of fish; interim payments and Gulf Coast Claims Facility; inability to leave boat.
Please Note: The oral histories in this collection are protected by copyright and have been created for educational, research and personal use as described by the Fair Use Doctrine in the U.S. Copyright law. Please reach out Voices@noaa.gov to let us know how these interviews are being used in your research, project, exhibit, etc. The Voices staff can help provide other useful resources related to your inquiry.
The NOAA mission is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. The Voices Oral History Archives offers public access to a wide range of accounts, including historical materials that are products of their particular times, and may contain offensive language or negative stereotypes.
Voices Oral History Archives does not verify the accuracy of materials submitted to us. The opinions expressed in the interviews are those of the interviewee only. The interviews here have been made available to the public only after the interviewer has confirmed that they have obtained consent.