This vivid twilight scene at Pass Christian (kris-chee-ANN) catches a fleet of shrimp boats berthed for the night. Alongside this deep water pass, named for Nicholas Christian L’adnier, was home for a long row of shoreline mansions. Beginning in 1849, Pass Christian was the place for the nouveau riche from New Orleans to enjoy beachside living. The area was complete with white sand beaches, a yacht club and all the trimmings of a resort town.
   Not many residents, including those employed by the Mississippi seafood industry, can think about the Gulf without recalling a series of devastating oil spills, hurricanes, and brutal storm surges. On a brighter note, area shrimpers and fishermen are enjoying lower costs for fuel today; and contending with fewer imports, seafood prices are starting to rise. Some of these Gulf shrimpers have also been bypassing the middleman and selling directly to customers who come to the docks searching for wild-caught shrimp.
   Recovering from one of the most intense hurricanes in history, Pass Christian was close to becoming completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina (2005). Part of the Gulfport and Biloxi metropolitan area, nearly 70 percent of Pass Christian homes were either damaged or completely lost. On the heels of Katrina, the next catastrophe, the Deepwater Horizon/Macondo well blowout in 2010, sent economic shockwaves throughout the region. Torn apart by hurricanes, swept by flood waters, and contaminated by 210 million gallons of toxic oil, lingering environmental damage and health issues still plague residents as well as area marine life. To this day oil continues to seep without much press from national media outlets.
   As the Gulf waters continue to improve, Pass Christian residents welcome vacationers to come and enjoy a dramatic Mississippi sunset.

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