Louisiana's Disappearing Coastline
The Environmental Challenges Facing Louisiana's Fishing, Oyster, and Coastal Communities & Their Fight for Resiliency
Louisiana's Southern Coast is central to the state's commercial fishing industry, as well as a melting pot of cultures with deep roots historically dependent on the sea. The continued loss of coastal wetlands due to sea level rise, continued subsidence, oil exploration, and fossil fuel pollution, has been exacerbated by increasingly destructive hurricane seasons. This has created instability in the surrounding estuaries on which local wildlife, fisheries, cultural groups, and industries rely. If nothing is done, the coast faces total collapse. This would mean the disappearance not only of a significant portion of our nation's seafood supply, but also a long legacy of culture and traditions. Efforts are being undertaken to restore precious wetlands, but the solutions may pose additional threats to the state's already-delicate fishing and oyster communities.
Historically, sediment deposition outpaced the natural subsidence, resulting in coastal land gain. But without land-building deposits from the river, subsidence dominates and the delta has begun to shrink and sink below sea level. Louisiana has lost nearly 2,000 square miles of land this past century—roughly the size of the state of Delaware.
The creation story told by the Chitimacha people in Louisiana describes the world as a wide expanse of water. The Great Creator first made fish. He longed to create man, but there was no land upon which man could live. The Great Creator instructed a crawfish to dive beneath the blue, and bring up a bit of mud between his claws.[1] Geologists tell a similar tale, though their creator is the Mississippi River—for thousands of years, it dumped soils stolen off the continent into the Gulf of Mexico. The river formed its delta, a vast and ever-changing landscape where the water once forked into many paths to the sea.
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Over thousands of years, portions of the Mississippi River have spilled into the low-lying flood plains on its path to the Gulf of Mexico, and created shallow, slow-moving channels. The word bayou is derived from the Choctaw word bayuk, which means "small stream."[2] In the Gulf Coast region, bayous are a braided network of waterways that push sediment across South Louisiana and form delta land.[3]
Nearby, the marshland stretches like webbing between watery fingers. It’s a world of rich organic soils, atop which mats of plants float. Communities settled on these passageways, building their homes on the banks and their livelihood on the water. Historically, the delta was an important crossroads, linking coastal travelers with upriver communities; the Choctaw called the delta, Bulbancha—the place of other languages.[4] Louisiana's bayous and marshes are a crossroad into history, and an artery to the heart of Cajun, Creole, and Native American life.
The Historical Lead-Up to the Modern Coastal Erosion Epidemic
The Mississippi River is massive, combining three major tributaries that drain thirty-one US states and two Canadian provinces, from Alberta to New York to New Mexico.[5] Together, these various tributaries once sent as much as 550 million metric tons of dirt to the Gulf of Mexico each year, stacking it into a perpetually growing lobe of land that once extended the coast of Louisiana 300 feet each year.[6] Oftentimes, the build-up of sediment would grow so long it would cause the river to roam freely back and forth across the flood plain.[7] Lured away from its confinement, the river sometimes jumped—or avulsed—after a large flood, sending its cascade of water down a new channel, and depositing fertile soil along its new pathway.[8]
The Creation of the Existing Levee System
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 showed just how powerful, and destructive, the river could be. After several months of unprecedented heavy rainfall, the then-existing levees gave way, spilling the river over 27,000 square miles. This resulted in hundreds of lives lost, thousands of homes destroyed,[9] and hundreds of thousands of people displaced. In response, Congress tasked the Army Corps of Engineers to build a massive system of levees and dams on the lower Mississippi.[10] This undertaking was intended to protect communities, economic infrastructure, and other resources from river flooding.
The Wetlands Have Been Deprived of Nutrient-Rich Sediments
An unintended consequence of the levee system was that the tie between the river and her delta has been cut, stopping the cycle of new wetland growth. Imprisoned within a single channel, the Mississippi River is unable to meander through the flood plain, depositing nutrient-rich sediment at its whim. Instead, it now spits its sediment into the depths of the Gulf of Mexico, where it is lost.[11]
Land formed by river sediments naturally subsides and sinks over time as part of the delta cycle.[12] Historically, sediment deposition outpaced the natural subsidence, resulting in coastal land gain. But without land-building deposits from the river, subsidence dominates and the delta has begun to shrink and sink below sea level. Louisiana has lost nearly 2,000 square miles of land this past century—roughly the size of the state of Delaware.[13]
Historically, sediment deposition outpaced the natural subsidence, resulting in coastal land gain. But without land-building deposits from the river, subsidence dominates and the delta has begun to shrink and sink below sea level. Louisiana has lost nearly 2,000 square miles of land this past century—roughly the size of the state of Delaware.
Two shrimp trawlers belonging to St. Vincent Seafood Co. in Golden Meadows, LA. In 2021, St. Vincent Seafood Co lost a trawler and had other infrastructure elements of its business severely damaged during Hurricane Ida. Commercial fishermen who had secured their vessels in tried-and-true storm refuges found many capsized or washed away by Ida’s 150 mph winds blasting across the southeast coast.
The people most impacted by this are those cultural groups and communities who fish, hunt, and live in the bayou and delta regions of South Louisiana. Whole parishes have been deleted off nautical maps, as their very history has sunk into the ocean. Currently, it is projected that Louisiana is losing a football field's worth of land every 100 minutes—that is sixteen miles of lost barrier island, swamps, and ground each year.[14]
As the land erodes, storms advance without a buffer, and Louisiana's flood protection systems, including its own levee system, become less effective.[15] The state estimates that damage from flooding could increase by $20 billion in coming years, if the coastline isn't reinforced.[16]
The Quest for Oil Has Exacerbated the Issue While Falling Victim to a Situation It Created
The slow erosion of the coastal land of Southern Louisiana is being hastened by additional factors including climate change, rising sea levels, and saltwater intrusion into freshwater areas due to the oil and gas industries.
A view from LA1 headed South toward Grand Isle, passed Golden Meadows. The slow erosion of the coastal land of Southern Louisiana is being hastened by additional factors including climate change, rising sea levels, and saltwater intrusion into freshwater areas due to the oil and gas industries.
South Louisiana has been contending with the quest for oil since 1901, when the first successful well was drilled in the state.[17] The industry wasted no time in cutting canals through marshes. In the span of a hundred years, more than 50,000 permits have been issued for oil exploration in Louisiana.[18] The industry has dredged more than 10,000 miles of canals, exposing Louisiana's interior to the Gulf of Mexico, creating saltwater intrusion that kills marshes. One canal, the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) washed out 618,000 acres of marshland. In 2005, Katrina's twenty-five foot storm surge overflowed through the MRGO and flooded St. Bernard's parish.[19]
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) petroleum drilling rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana, resulting in the world’s worst oil spill in history with more than 4 million barrels of oil released into the Gulf of Mexico.[20] The heaviest oiling occurred in Barataria Basin, which caused an incredible shock to the system and doubled or tripled the rate of land loss in that region.
Port Fourchon is Louisiana’s southernmost port, located on the southern tip of Lafourche Parish. It is a seaport with significant petroleum industry traffic from offshore Gulf oil platforms and drilling rigs. Port Fourchon currently services over 90% of the Gulf of Mexico’s deepwater oil production. The area furnishes 16-18% of the US oil supply.
Even Louisiana's $100B big oil energy infrastructure, which is responsible for 90% of the nation's offshore energy and 20% of its natural gas, is at risk due to ever rising water levels.[21] As the coastline recedes, tangles of pipeline are exposed to corrosive seawater; refineries, tank farms and ports are at risk. At Port Fourchon, which services 90% of deepwater oil production, the shoreline recedes by three feet every month.[22] Statewide, more than 610 miles of pipeline could be exposed over the next 25 years, according to one study by Louisiana State University and the Rand Corporation.[23]
An aging fishing boat rests in the waters of Mink Bayou near the town of Golden Meadows, an area known for its commercial fishing industry, as well as the noticeable presence of Cajun culture, music, and cuisine.
A Proposed Solution, with Likely Benefits, but Possible Consequences
A flooded shrimp shack in New Meadows, LA.
Over the years, there have been numerous plans to bolster coastal resiliency by rebuilding twenty-one square miles of wetlands in Southern Louisiana.[24] In 2023 the first adopted plan was implemented.
The Proposed Solution: Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project
On August 10, 2023, Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) broke ground on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project.[25] Sediment diversions mimic the natural processes that once allowed the river to build the land of coastal Louisiana.[26] A sediment diversion is a structure composed of a channel that is built into the existing levee system, and controlled by gates to allow for regulated flows of water and sediment from the river back into sediment-deprived basins.[27]
To achieve this, a 2-mile-long gated channel will be cut from the river’s west bank about 25 miles south of New Orleans, and link the river to the Barataria Basin — one of the regions most affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. When the river is high, the diversion will allow up to 75,000 cubic feet per second of water and sediment to flow into the wetlands.[28] That figure represents just a fraction of the vast Mississippi’s flow, but to put it in perspective, it’s the horizontal equivalent of all the water that passes through Niagara Falls on an average day.
Over 50 years, the sediment carried by the project is projected to restore over 13,000 acres of wetland habitat. The project has the capability to build and sustain thousands of acres of land that would provide increased storm surge protection to vulnerable communities, provide necessary habitats to sustain a productive estuary for fish, wildlife, and industry, and bring billions in economic benefit to the surrounding parishes.[29]
Construction kicked off last year and is slated to be completed by 2028.
Despite a Promising Future: There is Some Cause for Concern Amongst Some Fishing Communities
A potential problem—could the current plan, which requires diverting the freshwater Mississippi River into a saltwater bay, cause incidental devastation to surrounding marine life and area fisheries?
The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project is not without its critics. Those most concerned are shrimpers worried about their livelihood; homeowners concerned about flooding; and environmentalists dismayed at the potential loss of bottlenose dolphins, a federally protected species.[30]
The Project's Executive Summary does recognize that there are fisheries in the immediate vincinity which may be impacted by the freshwater diversion. For instance, the Executive Summary acknowledges
[t]he brown shrimp and oyster industries will likely see changes as salinities decrease during project operations, and areas that support these species are likely to shift to lower parts of the basin. This may present challenges to an already strained seafood industry. CPRA is committed to addressing these challenges as best we can, including funding programs to create and enhance oyster growing areas and growing techniques, upgrading vessel refrigeration and equipment, assisting with small business operations, and funding marketing programs to support buying local, Louisiana seafood."[31] [32]
To address this, the project includes a $378 million set-aside—of its $2.9 billion project cost—to mitigate expected damage to oyster beds and fisheries.[33]
On January 11, 2024, a coalition of oyster farmers and the Earth Island Institute in Louisiana responded by filing a federal lawsuit for injunctive relief.[34] The Plaintiffs acknowledge that rebuilding Louisiana's coast is of paramount importance, but they also pointed out that the project as designed will flood the Barataria Basin with freshwater. This, in turn, could devastate oyster reefs, and cause nutrient changes in the water that risk harming habitats for threatened birds and sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins and other wildlife.[35] In the coming weeks, attorneys on behalf of the US Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service will provide a formal response.
The Current State of a Historical Oyster Industry + The "Graying of the Fleet"
Louisiana is the country's second highest seafood producer behind Alaska, accounting for roughly 40% of the nation's seafood[36] valued at over $2.4B.[37] Specifically, Louisiana is responsible for 44% of the US' wild shrimp landings,[38] 43% of the nation's blue crabs,[39] and 41% of the nation's oysters.[40]
For years, Louisiana's oyster business outpaced other states by threefold.
In 2022, Louisiana landed 7,147,749 pounds of oysters valued at $75,280,861. This was a marked increase from 2021, in which 6,715,163 pounds valued at $53,053,819 were harvested. However, it’s a far cry from the golden timeframe between 2011 and 2018 when yearly harvests were averaging close to 12,000,000 pounds.
So why the change?
Historical Oyster Harvesting Traditions
Oysters in Louisiana have traditionally been harvested on both public oyster grounds, and by State-licensed private leaseholders paying for the right to invest their time and money to grow oysters.[41] A state system was put into place to allow the sustainable harvesting of oysters in Louisiana in 1902.[42] Generations of fishermen who worked oyster beds were offered private leases for 15 years by the state. The leases were renewable, so a family could keep a lease for generations. Fishermen would harvest 1-3 inch seed from public oyster grounds, and then take this seed back to their private leases for further growth and then harvesting when the oysters had matured 3 inches and larger.
This privatization was quasi-sustainable and manageable for a growing commercial industry.
But the industry has faced repeated challenges.
Hardships faced by the traditional oyster industry
The oil industry has caused some significant problems from the oyster industry. With the introduction of oil drilling, the leases that the state once protected were mowed over by oil drilling, dredging, and pipe laying. Pipes were laid all over the wetlands, wells were drilled, and canals dug, allowing salt water to introduce on the marshes and slowly dissolve the coast. In turn, the oyster beds were polluted with oil infrastructure and backwash.
In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused over $1 billion of damage to the oyster industry, including the destruction of public and private leases, wiping out the commercial infrastructure needed to market oysters and displacing workers. Hurricanes don't necessarily disturb fish and shrimp, but oysters remain stuck, leaving them vulnerable to smothering by storm silt and debris.[43] On a positive note, Louisiana was able to rebound after Hurricane Katrina, while other Gulf States have continued to struggle.[44]
The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Louisiana instituted a number of precautionary harvest closures during and after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Spill.[45] In 2009, the year before the spill, Louisiana produced 14 million pounds of oysters. Oyster production dropped by half in 2010, to 6.8 million pounds.
Oysters, which require brackish water to survive, took a blow from the immediate post-spill responses. Following the spill, large volumes of water were released from the Mississippi River to decrease oil infiltration into shoreline areas. The freshwater releases caused low salinity conditions in oyster habitat and killed huge numbers of Gulf oysters.[46]
The 2019 Flood + Bonnet Carré Spillway Opening
In 2019, a deluge of heavy rain across the country’s heartland ended in one of the most intense flood seasons on record. The Mississippi River ran swollen for months forcing the Army Corps of Engineers to open the Bonnet Carré spillway in February. It was left open until April, sending fresh water down into South Louisiana’s saltwater basins. As the river remained swollen, the Bonnet Carré was opened again—the first time it had ever been opened twice in one year—and it remained open again from May into July. This again inundated the Louisiana coast with freshwater, killing millions of oysters.[47] Further, the river water entering Lake Pontchartrain often has very high nutrient loads—enriched by farm runoff from thirty-two states—that promote toxic algae blooms, which are especially deadly to benthic marine animals like oysters.[48]
Hurricane Ida Deals Another Blow
As oyster harvesting areas began to recover from the 2019 flood, Hurricane Ida emerged without warning and pummeled the coast. Sediment and debris pushed in by Hurricane Ida smothered a number of the oyster beds, in western parishes, such as Lafourche, Jefferson, Terrebonne Parish suffering significant mortality.
The repeated history of setbacks in the oyster industry over the past twenty years, has understandably caused a reluctance of young people to enter an industry that is more arduous and less lucrative than it was in past generations has left Louisiana with a vexing conundrum: While the seafood remains plentiful —the will and expertise to harvest it is dwindling. The phenomenon, known locally as “the graying of the fleet,” is aggravated by storms like Ida and reflected in the steep decline in the volume of shrimp and oysters caught since 2019.[49]
Efforts to Reinvigorate and Strengthen the Industry
Senate Resolution (SR) 56 was passed during the 2020 regular session. SR 56 § 421 stablished an Oyster Task Force to study and monitor the shellfish industry, and make recommendations for the maximization of benefit from that industry for the state of Louisiana. The Resolution urges and requests Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to cooperate in developing projects and programs to rehabilitate the oyster resource, promote the viability of the oyster industry in Louisiana, assist the oyster industry with responding to a changing coast, and address competing uses for coastal water bottoms, including integrated coastal protection.
Louisiana recently established Alternative Oyster Culture (AOC), or, as it is defined, the production of hatchery-set oysters grown in gear suspended in the water column or on the sea floor.[50]
How You Can Help
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US currently imports more seafood than it has at any other time in history—80%.[51] This includes fish that has been captured by U.S. fisherman, sent out of the country for processing, and then imported back into the US. Purchasing foreign seafood when a domestic option is available sends reverberations through a culture, a community, and an industry, affecting fishermen's livelihoods.
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Citations
[1]Chitimacha, How the Great Spirit Made the World, Chitimacha.gov, https://www.chitimacha.gov/stories/how-great-spirit-made-world (last visited Jan. 16, 2024).
[2] Online Etymology Dictionary Archived. Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th edition Archived (Feb. 25, 2012).
[3] Water Heritage, Bayou des Glaises at Sarto Old Iron Bridge, waterheritage.atchafalaya.org, https://waterheritage.atchafalaya.org/trail-sites.php?trail=Sarto-Old-Iron-Bridge (last visited Jan. 16, 2024).
[4] Quarter Notes, What's in a Name? Bulbancha and Mobilian Jargon, French Quarter Journal, (March 2023), https://www.frenchquarterjournal.com/archives/whats-in-a-name-bulbancha-and-mobilian-jargon.
[5] US Army Corps of Engineers, The Mississippi Drainage Basin, US Army Corps of Engineers, https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Mississippi-River-Flood-Control/Mississippi-River-Tributaries/Mississippi-Drainage-Basin/ (last visited Jan. 16. 2024).
[6] NASA, Mississippi River Sediment Plume, NASA, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/1257/mississippi-river-sediment-plume (last visited Jan. 16, 2024).
[7] McLindon Geosciences, LLC, Explore the Geology of Coastal Louisiana, McLindon Geosciences, LLC, (April 11, 2020) https://www.mcgeo.me/blog/changing-course-historical-avulsions-and-the-old-river-control-structure
[8] McLindon Geosciences, LLC, Explore the Geology of Coastal Louisiana, McLindon Geosciences, LLC, (April 11, 2020) https://www.mcgeo.me/blog/changing-course-historical-avulsions-and-the-old-river-control-structure
[9] Hornbeck, Richard and Suresh Naidu, When the levee breaks: black migration and economic development in the American South, American Economic Review, 104.3 (2014): 963-990. More than 200,000 African Americans were displaced from their homes along the Lower Mississippi River and had to live for lengthy periods in relief camps. As a result of this disruption, many joined the Great Migration from the South to the industrial cities of the North and the Midwest; the migrants preferred to move, rather than return to rural agricultural labor.
[10] Watkins, T.H., Boiling Over, The New York Times, (April 13, 1997), https://www.npr.org/2018/05/21/610945127/levees-make-mississippi-river-floods-worse-but-we-keep-building-them. The period cost of the damage has been estimated to be between $246 million and $1 billion, which ranges from $4.2–$17.3 billion in 2023 dollars.
[11] Land Loss in the Mississippi River Delta, Restore, https://mississippiriverdelta.org/our-coastal-crisis/land-loss/ (last accessed Jan. 20, 2024).
[12] Restore the Mississippi River Delta, How the Delta Formed, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, https://mississippiriverdelta.org/our-coastal-crisis/how-the-delta-formed/ (last visited Jan. 16. 2024).
[13] Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, We can save Louisiana's coast, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, https://www.crcl.org/ (last visited Jan. 16. 2024).
[14] Restore the Mississippi River Delta, Land Loss, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, https://mississippiriverdelta.org/our-coastal-crisis/land-loss/ (last visited Jan. 16. 2024).
[15] Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, A Changing Landscape, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority https://coastal.la.gov/whats-at-stake/a-changing-landscape/ (last visited Jan. 16. 2024)
[16] Traywick, Catherine, Louisiana's sinking coast a $100 billion nightmare for Big Oil, Chicago Tribune, https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-louisiana-coastline-big-oil-20160822-story.html
[17]https://www.dnr.louisiana.gov/assets/TAD/education/BGBB/6/la_oil.html#:~:text=In%20September%2C%201901%2C%20the%20first,up%20one%20after%20the%20other.
[18] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-111shrg74311/pdf/CHRG-111shrg74311.pdf
[19] Baurick, Tristan, Corps long knew river dredging would trigger crisis, Nola, (Oct 23, 2023) https://www.nola.com/news/environment/corps-long-knew-river-dredging-would-trigger-water-crisis/
[20] https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/deepwater-horizon-bp-gulf-mexico-oil-spill
[21]https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-08-17/louisiana-s-sinking-coast-is-a-100-billion-nightmare-for-big-oil?embedded-checkout=true
[22] https://www.workboat.com/coastal-inland-waterways/big-oil-100b-nightmare-louisiana-sinking-coast#:~:text=At%20Port%20Fourchon%2C%20which%20services,University%20and%20the%20Rand%20Corporation.
[23] Louisiana's Sinking Coast is a $100 Billion Nightmare for Big Oil, (Aug. 17, 2016) https://thewaterinstitute.org/media/in-the-news/louisianas-sinking-coast-is-a-100-billion-nightmare-for-big-oil.
[24] McGill, Kevin, A billion-dollar coastal project begins in Louisiana. Will it work as sea levels rise? AP News, (Aug. 10, 2023) https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-coastal-restoration-mississippi-river-diversion-03a7d3458e870858fb0e961482bcedfe
[25] Louisiana Breaks Ground on Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, Louisiana Restoration Area (Aug. 25, 2023) https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2023/08/louisiana-breaks-ground-mid-barataria-sediment-diversion
[26] Baurick, Tristan, Old Accident in Mississippi Delta Holds Lessons for Saving Louisiana's Coast, Nola, (Aug. 25, 2017) https://www.nola.com/news/environment/old-accident-in-mississippi-delta-holds-lessons-for-saving-louisianas-coast/article_da03ee50-3631-54d3-ae1c-84ff959d285f.html
[27] What are sediment diversions, Restore, https://mississippiriverdelta.org/restoration-solutions/sediment-diversions/ (last accessed Jan. 20, 2024).
[28] Schleifstein, Mark Massive Mississippi River diversion project draws strong praise, bitter criticism Nola, (Aug. 11, 2023) https://www.nola.com/news/environment/mid-barataria-diversion-ceremony-sparks-procon-comments/
[29] Sediment Diversion, Mississippi River Delta, https://mississippiriverdelta.org/restoration-solutions/sediment-diversions/
[30] Jurisich Oysters, LLC, et al v U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, et al (U.S. Dist. Ct. Eastern Dist. LA), available at https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/jurisich-oysters-llc-et-al-vs-us-army-corps-of-engineers.pdf
[31] https://coastal.la.gov/midbarataria/assets/docs/MBSD_Executive_Summary.pdf
[32] Baurick, Tristan, Plaquemines oyster harvesters threaten lawsuit over $3 billion coastal restoration project, Nola, (Nov. 8, 20230 https://www.nola.com/news/environment/oyster-harvesters-threaten-lawsuit-over-sediment-diversion/article
[33] Dermansky, Julie, Mending the mighty Mississippi, Vital Signs (Aug. 9, 2023) https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/mending-mighty-mississippi
[34] Jurisich Oysters, LLC, et al v U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, et al (U.S. Dist. Ct. Eastern Dist. LA), available at https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/jurisich-oysters-llc-et-al-vs-us-army-corps-of-engineers.pdf
[35] Jurisich Oysters, LLC, et al v U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, et al (U.S. Dist. Ct. Eastern Dist. LA), available at https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/jurisich-oysters-llc-et-al-vs-us-army-corps-of-engineers.pdf
[36] Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone, The Nature Conservancy, https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/gulf-of-mexico/stories-in-the-gulf-of-mexico/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone/ (last accessed Jan. 18, 2024).
[37]Chavez, Roby, Louisiana shrimpers are in trouble, here's why, PBS.Org, (Jun. 2, 2023) https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/louisiana-shrimpers-are-worried-imports-will-sink-them-for-good.
[38] https://shrimpalliance.com/noaa-releases-november-2022-shrimp-landings-data-showing-rebound-in-louisiana-and-decline-in-texas/
[39] NOAA. The 2022 landings for blue crabs was 115,399,867 lbs, of which Louisiana contributed 49,865,059
[40] NOAA. The 2022 landings for virginica oytsers was 17,394,482 lbs, of which Louisiana contributed 7,147,749
[41] The Louisiana Oyster Task Force is comprised of these private leaseholders, members of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the office of Governor John Bel Edwards
[42] Wicker, Karen Miriam, The Development of the Louisiana Oyster Industry in the 19th Century, (1979). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 3362. https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/3362
[43]Welch, Michael, After Katrina and BP, Louisiana fishermen battle back from the brink, The Guardian (Aug. 27, 2015), https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/aug/27/new-orleans-fishermen-hurricane-katrina-fishing-industry-bp-oil-spill-hurricane-rita
[44] Ptrolia, Daniel, Hurricanes and water wars threaten the gulf coasts new high-end oyster industry, The Conversation, (Nov. 6, 2018) https://theconversation.com/hurricanes-and-water-wars-threaten-the-gulf-coasts-new-high-end-oyster-industry-105479. Prior to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Mississippi was the fourth-largest oyster-producing state in the nation. Katrina slashed the state’s output by 80 percent that year, and fishermen were unable to harvest oysters at all in 2006. Production recovered somewhat over the next several years, but Mississippi harvests have remained around one-tenth of pre-Katrina levels.
[45]Abnormalities found in oysters years after the deepwater horizon oil spill, Cal Academy.org, (Sep. 8, 2021) https://www.calacademy.org/press/releases/tissue-abnormalities-found-in-oysters-years-after-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill. The researchers found that oysters from the Gulf of Mexico study sites had significantly higher rates of metaplasia along their digestive and respiratory tracts than those from Chesapeake Bay, including oysters sampled as late as 2013, three years after the DWH oil spill. “The differences we found between the oysters were devastating,” Professor Deanne Roopnarine says. “Those from Chesapeake Bay had beautiful ciliated gills, which they use to help filter food particles, while some from the Gulf Coast had no cilia at all. When I saw that I thought, how are these animals feeding and surviving?”
[46] Loftus-Farren, Zoe, Oyster beds still empty four years after deepwater horizon, Earth Island, (April 21, 2014), https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/oyster_beds_still_empty_four_years_after_deepwater_horizon_oil_spill/
[47] Anderson, Brett, Gulf oysters are dying, putting a southern tradition at risk, New York Times, (Nov. 12, 2019) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/dining/gulf-oysters.html
[48] Gasparini, N.M, and B. Yuill, High Water: Prolonged Flooding the Deltaic Mississippi River, Eos.org, (March 20, 2020), https://eos.org/features/high-water-prolonged-flooding-on-the-deltaic-mississippi-river
[49] A recently released study by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and Louisiana State University estimates that the state’s $2.5 billion seafood industry suffered nearly $580 million in losses over the past two hurricane seasons.
[50] La. Stat. tit. 56 § 431.2
[51] The United States Imports Continue, Aquanet.com, https://www.aquanet.com/us-seafood-trends (last accessed Jan. 20, 2024).