LDWF meeting to talk about Big Lake Oysters

[keakar]

Originally Posted by Duck Butter

ship channel dredging?

no he is talking about oyster dredging with rakes plowing up the bottom and striping areas completely bare of oysters in their wake.

you should see how they work, they circle endlessly until they cant find a single oyster left before they move to another spot.

oyster dredging IS as bad and harmful as the gill nets were and it should be outlawed forcing oyster fishermen to go back to less destructive methods like tonging or harvesting by hand

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by keakar

no he is talking about oyster dredging with rakes plowing up the bottom and striping areas completely bare of oysters in their wake.

you should see how they work, they circle endlessly until they cant find a single oyster left before they move to another spot.

oyster dredging IS as bad and harmful as the gill nets were and it should be outlawed forcing oyster fishermen to go back to less destructive methods like tonging or harvesting by hand

Here is a picture of 2 boats on the south bank of Big Lake. There was at least 2 dozen boats working the Lake on 4-21-2010.
.

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by keakar

no he is talking about oyster dredging with rakes plowing up the bottom and striping areas completely bare of oysters in their wake.

you should see how they work, they circle endlessly until they cant find a single oyster left before they move to another spot.

oyster dredging IS as bad and harmful as the gill nets were and it should be outlawed forcing oyster fishermen to go back to less destructive methods like tonging or harvesting by hand

I have touched base with some folks at the LDWF office in Baton Rouge. It seems as if the Commission is likely to decide tomorrow what the oyster harvest regulations on Big Lake will be next year. If the decision is to be made tomorrow, it may be too late to submit comments by email after the meeting.

Therefore, I would recommend contacting Commission members today with your input regarding oystering. Some points to consider:

1. Damage to oyster reefs by dredging not only harms the future of the oyster fishery, but also harms the entire ecosystem and fishery.

2. Healthy oyster reefs provide essential ecosystem services including filtering of anthropogenic inputs, benthopelagic coupling, biological resistance to algae blooms and subsequent hypoxia, nursery areas for finfish, areas of concentrated benthos, and high quality habitat.

3. Over harvesting of oysters was a key factor in the decline of many fisheries along the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, including the Chesapeake Bay and Galveston Bay.

4. Scientists estimate that each 10 square meters of high quality oyster reefs produce an additional 2.6 kg/year of finfish and large crustaceans.

Some references:

Beck, M. W., R. D. Brumbaugh, L. Airoldi, A. Carranza, L. D. Coen, C. Crawford, O. Defeo, G. J. Edgar, B. Hancock, M. C. Kay, H. S. Lenihan, M. W. Luckenbach, C. L. Toropova, G. F. Zhang, and X. M. Guo. 2011. Oyster Reefs at Risk and Recommendations for Conservation, Restoration, and Management. Bioscience 61:107-116.

Beck, M. W., K. L. Heck, K. W. Able, D. L. Childers, D. B. Eggleston, B. M. Gillanders, B. Halpern, C. G. Hays, K. Hoshino, T. J. Minello, R. J. Orth, P. F. Sheridan, and M. R. Weinstein. 2001. The Identification, Conservation, and Management of Estuarine and Marine Nurseries for Fish and Invertebrates. Bioscience 51:633-641.

Coen, L. D. and R. E. Grizzle. 2007. The importance of habitat created by molluscan shellfish to managed species along the Atlantic coast of the United States. ASMFC Management Series #8.

Grabowski, J. H., and C. H. Peterson. 2007. Restoring Oyster Reefs To Recover Ecosystem Services, p. 281 – 298. In: Ecosystems Engineers: Plants to Protists. K. Cuddington, J. E. Byers, W. G. Wilson, and A. Hastings (eds.). Academic Press, Burlington, MA.

Henson, M. 1993. The History of Galveston Bay Resource Utilization. Webster, Texas.

Newell, R. I. E. 2004. Ecosystem Influences of Natural and Cultivated Populations of Suspension-Feeding Bivalve Molluscs: A Review. Journal of Shellfish Research 23:51-61.

Peterson, C. H., I. H. Grabowski, and S. P. Powers. (2003). Estimated Enhancement of Fish Production Resulting from Restoring Oyster Reef Habitat: Quantitative Valuation. Marine Ecology Progress Series 264:249-264.

Plunket, J. T. 2003. A Comparison Of Finfish Assemblages on Subtidal Oyster Shell (Clutched Oyster Lease) and Mud Bottom in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. LSU Thesis. HYPERLINK "http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-0626103-163535/unrestricted/Plunket_thesis.pdf"

Plunket, J. and M. K. La Peyre. 2005. Oyster Beds as Fish and Macroinvertebrate Habitat in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. Bulletin of Marine Science 77:155-164.

Rothschild, B. J., J. S. Ault, P. Goulletquer, and M. Heral. 1994. Decline of the Chesapeake Bay Oyster Population - A Century of Habitat Destruction and Overfishing. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 111:29-39.

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by MathGeek

Therefore, I would recommend contacting Commission members today with your input regarding oystering. Some points to consider:

1. Damage to oyster reefs by dredging not only harms the future of the oyster fishery, but also harms the entire ecosystem and fishery.

2. Healthy oyster reefs provide essential ecosystem services including filtering of anthropogenic inputs, benthopelagic coupling, biological resistance to algae blooms and subsequent hypoxia, nursery areas for finfish, areas of concentrated benthos, and high quality habitat.

3. Over harvesting of oysters was a key factor in the decline of many fisheries along the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, including the Chesapeake Bay and Galveston Bay.

4. Scientists estimate that each 10 square meters of high quality oyster reefs produce an additional 2.6 kg/year of finfish and large crustaceans.

I just got the report with the 2014 oyster stock assessment data from LDWF. It looks like the 2014 oyster numbers are up slightly above the 2013 numbers. So it is possible to interpret the data as if the oyster stocks are rebounding, even though they are nowhere near the levels in 2009-2010 (before the steep decline due to high harvest pressure). It is possible that the Commission may leave next year's regulations about the same as this year's (allowing dredging in West Cove, but no harvest on the east side).

If you would like to see oyster dredging stopped in West Cove, you should make plans to attend the meeting tomorrow or contact Commission members today.

Also of interest is the map of the 2014 Gulf of Mexico dead zone, released a few days ago by LUMCON. Notice the large area of hypoxic bottom water in the Gulf between Sabine and Mermantau. The dead zone area in this region has been growing since the oyster overharvest in 2010, and review of NASA satellite images showing Chlorophyll a concentration appear to provide the explanation. (See: http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi/l3 ) Two valuable ecosystem services provided by quality oyster reef habitats are curbing anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus (which fertilize algae blooms) and directly reducing algae concentrations by filter feeding on algae. Hypoxic bottom water is caused mainly by the decaying of abundant algae and other photosynthetic biomass after it sinks to the bottom.

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by MathGeek

I just got the report with the 2014 oyster stock assessment data from LDWF. It looks like the 2014 oyster numbers are up slightly above the 2013 numbers. So it is possible to interpret the data as if the oyster stocks are rebounding, even though they are nowhere near the levels in 2009-2010 (before the steep decline due to high harvest pressure). It is possible that the Commission may leave next year's regulations about the same as this year's (allowing dredging in West Cove, but no harvest on the east side).

If you would like to see oyster dredging stopped in West Cove, you should make plans to attend the meeting tomorrow or contact Commission members today.

Also of interest is the map of the 2014 Gulf of Mexico dead zone, released a few days ago by LUMCON. Notice the large area of hypoxic bottom water in the Gulf between Sabine and Mermantau. The dead zone area in this region has been growing since the oyster overharvest in 2010, and review of NASA satellite images showing Chlorophyll a concentration appear to provide the explanation. (See: http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi/l3 ) Two valuable ecosystem services provided by quality oyster reef habitats are curbing anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus (which fertilize algae blooms) and directly reducing algae concentrations by filter feeding on algae.

You are not trying to correlate the oyster dredging with increased dead zone now are you? Bit of a stretch



as usual