Venture Global, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, is constructing four new facilities along the Gulf Coast—from Calcasieu Pass and CP2 and CP3 in the Calcasieu Basin to Plaquemines Parish.

To accommodate large ships, the company is dredging waterways and constructing new LNG storage facilities, allowing LNG to be transported and exported to energy markets around the world.

However, this dredging and LNG buildout is threatening the livelihoods of oyster farmers in the region.

“Oysters are dying,” says Cameron Parish oyster farmer Skye Leger. “Oysters are smothered by dredging sediment.” The sediment from the Calcasieu Basin is a major concern for local fishermen, who say that decades of industrial activity and chemical manufacturing in the region have contributed to contamination of the waterways.

Chemical plants and other industrial facilities have operated throughout the region for decades, discharging industrial byproducts into surrounding waterways under a complex system of environmental regulations.

This project was filmed for the Cameron Parish Fishermen and Fossil Free Media.