COTEAU HOLMES — Have you ever considered where the alligator skins used to make that fine Gucci purse you just bought came from?

There’s a good chance it was from the Atchafalaya Basin, delivered by fishermen to and cured at the American Tanning and Leather Factory in Coteau Holmes.

Chris Plotts was born into the “skinning” business, he said. His grandfather, A.J. “Jake” Plott began buying animal skins in 1923 from trappers and hunters in the Georgia mountain town of Blairsville.

(Use arrows above to view more photos) Advertisement

Over the years, the company has processed alligator, crocodile, ostrich, python, lizard, frog and cayman skins for manufacturers responsible for some of the finest retail merchandise on the market, including lines like Gucci, Polo, DKNY and Hermes. 

Every September, Plotts and his highly skilled crew descend on tiny Coteau Holmes just in time for alligator season. The Plotts family purchased the plant in 2005 from Coteau Holmes natives Gilbert and Linda Blanchard.

There are a few key differences in the market this year, he said.

“The problem right now is not with the alligator business,” Plotts said. “It’s the global economy. People just don’t have the disposable income they once did and those that do have it are being more prudent with how they spend it.”

A decrease in demand for luxury items such as those manufactured with alligator skins harvested from the Basin are making it difficult for Plotts and his staff to move the same amount of product.

In fact, he said demand for alligator skins has decreased 70 percent from last year.

The significant decrease is trickling down to alligator fishermen, said Noel Kinler, alligator program manager with the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

“Typically, we would have expected to issue 35,000 tags,” Kinler said. “This year we issued 24,000 and many of the people that came to get them have since decided not to participate because of the prices the skins are fetching.”

Plotts agreed the current prices paid to fishermen for alligators is “disgusting.”

“The price is terrible,” he said. “They (manufacturers) just don’t need any skins right now and the prices are reflecting that. However, I’m hopeful because the price is so cheap that maybe they will will realize it’s a good investment.”

This season, which started about a week ago in the Teche Area, the price paid to fishermen for alligator skins are: $2 per foot for 5-footers, $4 per foot for 6-footers, $7 per foot for 7-footers and $11 per foot for any skin larger than 8 feet.

Compared to last year’s payouts, $34 per foot for the average 7 1/2-foot alligator, the significant reduction in the amount the hunter is getting this year is obvious, Kinler said.

“The hunter just won’t be very profitable this year I’m afraid,” he said.

Though Plotts said he looks forward to his crew’s annual monthlong migration to the Teche Area, he said the rigors of the season are hard on him. In addition, this year, with such low prices, dealing with fishermen has been tricky.

“We find ourselves fighting with the fishermen a little,” he said. “They don’t always understand where our heads are. It’s really just the difference between buyers and sellers.”

This year, Kinler expects the harvest during alligator season to be under 10,000 skins.

Ten thousand skins is Plotts’ goal this year, he said, though he expects only to bring in 5,000 to 7,000 before the season closes at the end of the month.