Voices From the Gulf (Part 2): "It's the only job I've ever had since college."

This is the second installment in our series "Voices From The Gulf," focused on people who live and work in the areas being affected or threatened by the spill. Read the first installment here.

The Titanic wasn't supposed to sink, just like oil was never supposed to sheath the Gulf. And certainly no one, not the least Captain Troy Wetzel, ever expected the unthinkable would happen in his backyard.  A self-proclaimed "Gulf addict," Captain Troy is a native Louisianan charter boat captain who has been fishing out of Venice, La., since he was 11.

"I love the Gulf. Fishing is the only job I've had since graduating from Tulane," he said.  "I'm upset because this is my backyard and my only yard." Captain Troy holds two world records and 27 state records for his fishing exploits there, and it pains him to watch the spill kill those fish. "I don't have world or state records in any other yard because I don't see the same fish anywhere else. And this spill is killing all the wildlife," he explains.

Even worse, the spill—now the largest in U.S. history—is killing his business and likely will continue to do so for years to come.  The immediate impact is devastating because it happened right as the charter boat season usually picks up. Back in 2006, people took more than 25 million recreational fishing trips in the Gulf.  This year, the numbers are dropping off fast.

"May, June, July, August, this is what we buy our families' Christmas presents with. This is when we put away for health insurance and for a cold, rainy day. But everyone is calling and saying they don't want to be around the pollution. Monday through Friday next week—every one of them has called and canceled."

This timing is also bad because so many Gulf fishermen are still saddled with loans they needed to rebuild after Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav. These existing debts are making it harder for fisherman to use loans to stay afloat this time around.

"I built my first boat with my own two hands. Hurricane Katrina destroyed it," Captain Troy says. He says that the FEMA small business loan he needed to rebuild his boat is why his recent application for a new, $10,000 loan was rejected. Now he needs to look at other options to weather the current crisis. "They want to put a second mortgage on my house. Even though I've never missed a payment for anything in my life."

Captain Troy think the government could help him by making allowances for these FEMA loans, or perhaps throwing them away altogether.

There are also unacceptable longer-term consequences of the spill that Captain Troy worries about. Years after the Exxon Valdez spill, he hears that oil still lingers with the mud there. "We have trawl fishing that scrapes along the bottom, and those nets will move that oil all over the Gulf," he says.

He is adamant, however, that he will stay put through the spill and not abandon is lifelong home.

"There's nothing wrong with my hands, feet or back. I want to rebuild and clean it up. I don't want to leave. God made the Earth and He made it amazing. And I am praying—everyone is praying—that BP's got a second plan that works. Because obviously they didn't have a first plan."

Though he wants to help with the cleanup response, many fisherman have lacked the training to act. Captain Troy says that oil and companies should have dealt with this before disaster struck. He puts it this way: "Do you want your doctors to learn how to operate on you before or after you're in a car accident? Same with the clean up."

And, above all else, Captain Troy says that before anyone ever, ever does deep water drilling again, workable plans are needed to prevent and deal with accidents. The Obama administration seems to support his logic, and, as of now, all deep water rigs that drill below 5,000 ft have been ordered to cease operations until safety measures are reviewed.

When I ask Captain Troy if he would support more drilling he says, "I don't want it in my backyard now. No."

What about you? Has this spill changed your mind about offshore drilling? To support a permanent ban, sign the petition here.  You can find more of Captain Troy's thoughts here.

Photo credit: Prince Roy