Savanna and her dad Lance Nacio heading out fishing on a Louisiana bayou. Photo: Ewell Smith/Louisiana Seafood News
by Jenny Peterson/Louisiana Seafood News
Savanna Nacio’s will always remember her first experience on Louisiana Gulf Coast waters – it was during a hurricane.
“My dad said it was the safest thing to do,” recalls the 13-year-old who was in elementary school at the time.
If she was going to listen to anyone it would be him. Lance Nacio, a third generation fisherman, has dedicated his life to his profession and the great outdoors.
On any give Saturday she accompanies him to Lafourche Central Market, handling customers’ money and bagging his fresh-caught shrimp for eager customers. Photo: Ed Lallo/Louisiana Seafood News
“I had fishing in both sides of the family,” he dad explained. “My great grand-fathers were from Grand Isle, and the other from LaRose. My mother’s side had shrimper and oyster fishermen from Grand Isle.”
Lance Nacio continues that legacy as a fisherman who owns and operates Anna Marie Seafood from his shrimp boat on the Gulf – and his daughter Savanna is never far from his side.
Sales Side Saturdays
On any give Saturday she accompanies him to Lafourche Central Market, handling customers’ money and bagging his fresh-caught shrimp for eager customers.
She is a great help,” says here dad. “She is knows the business like the back of her hand.”
Growing up on the water in Bayou Blue and Monteguet, Savanna had a childhood that centered on fishing and hunting, and she’s poised to continue that tradition as the family’s fourth generation of fishermen.
She recalls watching her dad fish for flounder – well, jabbing for flounder, as she describes -when they would take excursions to Last Island in the Gulf.
This year alone she has been crabbing, shrimping and can’t wait to accompanying her dad on harvesting crawfish in the Atchafalaya Basin.
“I’ve never been crawfishing before. I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “My dad told me it’s going to be just like crabbing with nets that sink to the bottom and you just pick it up.”
Alligator Hunter
Savanna is also a hunter, and her favorite type of hunting is alligator hunting which she does every September during alligator season.
Savanna describes how she uses a line to bait them and when snagged, she shoots them. Some she’s hunted and killed have been upwards of ten feet long.
“I’m not scared of them but when they come back to life on the boat, it’s nerve-wrecking,” she said.
During the year, the Bayou Blue middle school student said it’s hard to get out on the water, but she like to go out a least once a month and knows exactly how to shrimp, which she said is her favorite seafood.
“You have a skimmer and you leave the nets out in the water for an hour and then pick it up, untie it, and the shrimp fall on the deck, “ she says. “You clean it, throw the fish back and keep the shrimp.”
“But if it’s nice fish, you keep it,” she adds.
“I’m not scared of them but when they come back to life on the boat, it’s nerve-wrecking,” said Savanna. Photo: Lance Nacio
Over the years, Savanna has seen the highs and lows that come with relying on the water for a living. She remembers the months her father was helping cleaning crews following the Deep Water Horizon oil spill. She’s seen the new technology that has helped improve her dad’s business, the new on-board freezer on the Anna Marie that preserves the freshness of the catch.
“It’s really an advantage,” she said. “My dad carefully explains the changes in technology from when he was young fisherman.”
One of four children, Savanna has shown the most interest in the family business and possibly taking on running it when she gets older.
“It crosses my mind often,” she said, “I enjoy it.”
One thing is certain, though. She always wants to live on the water.
“Everything you need is right here,” she said. “If worst comes to worst, you have all your food and everything you’d ever need to survive.”
Savanna Nacio is more than surviving on the water in Louisiana, she is harvesting its bounty and reaping its joie de vie.
Savanna on her dad’s shrimp boat, the Anna Marie. Photo: Lance Nacio
The post Louisiana’s Next Generation of Fishermen: Savanna Nacio Experienced Fisherman at Ripe Old Age of 13 appeared first on Louisiana Seafood News.