. >> reporter: to get to point a la hache you have to cross the mississippi river on a ferryboat. the economy of this predominantly african american enclave depends on boats that harvest oysters from the coastal waters. because of fears that oil will soon hit the area , the government opened the season early , and these lucky fishermen came back with a huge load. most of the deck hands, like edwardo mendez, come from mexico. so these have just been caught. they're oysters, right? >> yeah. >> reporter: what about the oil? is there any oil in the oyst jeerz no. no oil. they're good ones, good, no oil. >> reporter: but since they can't bank on the oil staying away, and they're scared that any hurricane could wreak havoc on the oyster bed, oyster men are working at a feverish pace. claude duplessis has been harvesting oysters for all of his adult life. he was among a group of residents who gathered at the st. thomas catholic church to talk about how the oil spill has been affecting business. >> if the oil comes in, they're destroyed, not just temporarily, but for a long, long time. >>