Empire, along with Venice, is the third largest seafood port in the United States by weight and value"(NOAA, 2016)".(Landings by Port Ranked by Pounds, NOAA, 2016). Some two thousand boats home port from Empire. Species landed include oysters, shrimp, menhaden, and other types of fin fish. During the BP oil spill, seafood landings came to a halt. Oyster landings did not resume for an entire year. Under the Coast 2050 plan, a 50,000 cfs freshwater diversion is proposed at Empire, which threatens the livelihood of the fishermen and the supporting businesses by drastically altering the salinity in the surrounding marshes.
Fishing boats grounded near Empire, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.
During the afternoon of August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina approached the northern coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, generating tropical force winds along coastal areas of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. At 6:10 a.m., on August 29, 2005, Katrina made landfall just a few miles southeast of Empire, at Buras-Triumph. Many shrimp and oyster boats were grounded along the roads and levees near Empire. On the morning of August 29, the eye of the storm passed over Empire. The area was entirely flooded, causing dozens of boats that had popped their moorings to settle near the southern foot of the Empire High Rise Bridge. As a result, all traffic coming into or out of southern Plaquemines Parish was routed over the draw bridge on Parish Highway 11 (the old alignment of Louisiana Highway 23). Many notable businesses such as Tom's Place Oyster Bar and The Delta Marina were destroyed.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.6 square miles (20 km2), of which 5.2 square miles (13 km2) is land and 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2) (31.49%) is water.
^"2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Empire CDP, LA"(PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 2 (PDF p. 3/3). Retrieved January 14, 2024. - Compare to the school's entire postal address. "Contact". South Plaquemines High School. Retrieved January 14, 2024. Address 34121 Hwy 23 Buras, LA 70041 - While the address states "Buras, LA", the school is physically in the Empire CDP.
