Calcasieu Lake and its critical marine resources will get stronger protections under legislation signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal late last week. Sen. Blade Morrish, RJennings,
sponsored Senate Bill 73 in response to studies showing that in 2010 the number of market-size oysters had decreased by 49 percent from the previous year and that the total oyster population had dropped 33 percent. The Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana worked with Morrish to develop the new protections included in the legislation.
“The legislation supports CCA’s mission of conserving Louisiana’s marine resources while also preserving one of the state’s most important habitats for fin fish,” said CCA Louisiana Executive Director David Cresson. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill last summer, Calcasieu Lake has become a more popular location for oyster harvesting as many oyster beds in Southeast Louisiana were closed to harvest.
The number of boats harvesting oysters on Calcasieu Lake last year was nearly triple what it was just a few years prior, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. That increased pressure on the lake’s oyster resource has led to a significant drop in oyster numbers. The problem was so evident this year that LDWF Secretary Robert Barham issued an emergency order to close the oyster season in the east side of Calcasieu Lake early after LDWF monitoring activities determined that a continued harvest threatened the remaining oyster resources.
SB 73 allows for a maximum of 126 oyster harvest permits in Calcasieu Lake, half of which must be given to persons who can prove through trip ticket landings that they commercially harvested oysters from Calcasieu Lake any time since Jan. 1, 2001. The remaining permits will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. While this egislation is slightly different than the plan CCA originally helped develop, it will ultimately reduce harvest pressure by removing about half the oyster boats from Big Lake - from about 250 in 2010 to 126 in 2012 and beyond. “This legislation is an important step toward conserving this precious resource, restoring a once thriving oyster fishery and sustaining the many other user groups - both recreational and commercial - that depend on healthy and abundant oyster reefs to flourish,” Cresson said.
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