Business briefs

Transit study launches in Lafourche
THIBODAUX — The South Central Planning and Development Commission is seeking input on the future of public transit in Lafourche Parish.
The the group has launched a transit feasibility study on needs in communities throughout the coastal parish.
Officials say the findings will be presented to parish officials in 2015.
Lafourche residents can share their thoughts online at http://scpdc.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=365c12ac787d0e01ffbe2b736....

New study: Port Fourchon sales impact $2.8B
THIBODAUX — A new report says industry at Port Fourchon accounted for more than $2.8 billion in sales and $650 million in household earnings in 2013.
Loren Scott, president of Loren C. Scott & Associates, briefed the Greater Lafourche Port Commission Friday on the growing port.
The port is estimated to service 90 percent of deep-water oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico.
The commission hired Scott to update a similar study released in 2008 that documents the port’s economic impact.
Among key findings, the new report shows the total number of jobs directly related to Port Fourchon in the state — 10,804 — is greater than the total employment in each of 30 parishes. For every one job created at Port Fourchon, another 5.2 jobs are created elsewhere in the state to support it.
“Having conducted over 200 economic impact studies, our research team can affirm that this is an unusually high multiplier effect,” the study states.
The study also found that over 8,000 jobs in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes are directly related to the existence of Port Fourchon.
“What this means is one out of every 13 jobs in this two-parish area is here because of the existence of the port,” Scott said.

New crab trappers need training in field
HOUMA — People looking to get into the crab harvesting business are facing new requirements for field training.
The requirements for commercial crab trap gear licenses go into effect later this month and are part of a larger effort to improve the product and practices in various local fisheries.
A state wildlife and fisheries spokesman said the new regulations will improve the health of the blue crab industry and minimize conflicts with other fisheries.
The new requirements are effective Friday and apply to applicants for a commercial crab trap gear license who have not held such a license in two of the last four years.
Applicants must complete an informational course and assessment based on videos showing best industry practices.
The videos are tied to the Fisheries Forward, a program developed between LSU AgCenter’s Sea Grant program and the state. The program includes information about ideal industry practices for various fisheries.
The course information covers state laws on harvest regulations, financial aspects and practices to improve the quality of the catch. There is also a test on the content applicants must pass for a license.
The videos also cover instructions regarding the maintenance of crab traps, something many local shrimpers say is lacking in Terrebonne Parish. Those videos will not be available until April 2015, but the new rules allow the state to issue conditional licenses for those who complete the required field training, which involves participation in either a sponsorship or mentoring program.
The sponsorship program requires a minimum of 200 hours of training with a designated mentor, with at least 100 of those hours coming on days where the mentor has reported sales of crabs.

BauerFinancial awards Whitney Bank 5-Star rating
NEW ORLEANS — As the Whitney Bank name trusted by generations recently celebrated 131 years of growing with Gulf South communities, BauerFinancial Inc., the country’s leading independent bank rating firm, marked the milestone with a special birthday accolade: another 5-Star Superior rating. That recommendation (Bauer’s highest rating) affirms the bank as one of America’s strongest, safest financial institutions for the 100th consecutive quarter — 25 years in a row.
BauerFinancial Inc. awarded its 5-Star rating to Whitney based on the company’s strong capital, asset quality, profitability, proactive risk management, and sound business practices for the quarter ending June 30. The agency has reported on and analyzed U.S. bank and credit union performance since 1983. No institution can pay for or opt out of a BauerFinancial rating.
BauerFinancial President Karen L. Dorway said, “Community banks such as Whitney Bank are integral parts of the communities they serve. So, to say that the bank is ‘award-winning’ is to say that the community is as well. Congratulations on their continued success.”
Whitney Bank opened Oct. 26, 1883, in downtown New Orleans.
Now with $20 billion in assets, parent Hancock Holding Company serves a footprint spanning five Gulf Coast states and including some of the region’s most dynamic centers of opportunity. Bank leaders credit the company’s success to associates’ dedication, clients’ confidence, and core values set forth by the bank’s founders.
“We are able to grow with the people and places we serve because of our clients’ trust. Since the late 1800s, hard-working associates have earned that trust by carrying on the core values at the heart of our company: Honor and Integrity, Strength and Stability, Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility,” said Hancock Holding Company President and Chief Executive Officer Carl J. Chaney.
Hancock Holding Company is a multi-faceted financial services company with regional business headquarters and locations throughout a growing Gulf South corridor. The company’s banking subsidiary provides comprehensive financial choices at Whitney Bank locations in Louisiana and Texas and Hancock Bank offices in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; energy banking; private banking; trust and investment services; certain insurance services; mortgage services; and consumer financing.
More information and online banking are available at www.whitneybank.com. Consumers may obtain free star-ratings by visiting www.bauerfinancial.com.
From Associated Press and staff reports.