1 / 15

Louisiana Oyster Management

Louisiana Oyster Management. In The Wake Of Major Hurricanes. Patrick D. Banks Marine Fisheries Biologist Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. OVERVIEW. Oyster Landings In Louisiana Recent History of Storms Step-Wise Response Current Plans For Rehabilitation

tadhg
Download Presentation

Louisiana Oyster Management

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Louisiana Oyster Management In The Wake Of Major Hurricanes Patrick D. Banks Marine Fisheries Biologist Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

  2. OVERVIEW • Oyster Landings In Louisiana • Recent History of Storms • Step-Wise Response • Current Plans For Rehabilitation • Other Management Actions

  3. Historical Louisiana Oyster Landings Source: NMFS and LDWF

  4. RECENT STORMS • Hurricane Andrew – August 1992 • Tropical Storm Allison – June 2001 • Hurricane Lili – Sept/Oct. 2002 • Hurricane Ivan – September 2004 • Hurricane Katrina – August 2005 • Hurricane Rita – September 2005 • In general, heavy oyster mortalities associated with: • Sediment and vegetative overburden • Hypoxic and/or anoxic conditions • Low salinity from freshwater runoff • Salinity shock from storm surge?

  5. STEP-WISE RESPONSE Fisheries independent biological monitoring Post-storm biological sampling Data analysis Report preparation Walk The Hill Develop and submit disaster grant proposal Prepare plans for rehabilitation activities Execute oyster resource rehabilitation Perform biological monitoring Document rehabilitation

  6. CULTCH DEPOSITION • GOAL: Provide suitable substrate for larval attachment and growth • Important habitat management tool • Cultch material • Clam shell • Crushed oyster shell • Limestone • Crushed concrete • Began in 1919 • Over 1.4 million yd3 • Nearly 30,000 acres • Most recent – Summer 2004

  7. REHABILITATION PLANS • $23M earmarked for oyster rehabilitation • $13M – private leases • $10M – public grounds • Private lease program • Sediment and debris removal • Cultch planting • Transplanting seed oysters • Relaying oysters from closed to open areas • Public ground rehabilitation • Water bottom mapping • Cultch planting

  8. OTHER MANAGEMENT ACTIONS For Public Oyster Areas • Adjust oyster season framework • Develop harvest area limitations • May set harvest levels • Other protection activities

  9. IN SUMMARY • Strong history of stable landings • Long history of major storms • Rehabilitation begins quickly • Multiple management tools utilized to assist with rehabilitation

  10. QUESTIONS? Patrick Banks pbanks@wlf.louisiana.gov 225.765.2370

More Related