Saving Seafood

Sediment diversion project could drastically alter Louisiana shrimp, oyster fisheries

March 18, 2021 — A U.S. Corps of Engineers environmental impact statement for the planned USD 2 billion (EUR 1.67 billion) Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project acknowledges it will drastically alter the south Louisiana shrimp and oyster fisheries.

“Moderate to major, adverse, permanent direct and indirect impacts are anticipated on shrimp fisheries in the project area due to expected negligible to minor, permanent, beneficial impacts on white shrimp, and major, permanent, adverse impacts on brown shrimp abundance,” an executive summary of the report, issued on 5 March, stated.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Economist says coastal restoration projects would pump billions into southeast Louisiana’s economy

October 17, 2019 — Two projects planned by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority will have a multibillion-dollar economic impact on southeast Louisiana, according to a report presented to the CPRA board Wednesday.

The CPRA expects to spend $1.8 billion over seven years on two controversial diversion projects that would redirect land-building sediment from the Mississippi River to Barataria Bay and Breton Bay.

“That’s a non-trivial sum of money, obviously,” said Loren Scott, an economist who studied the potential economic impact for the Restore the Mississippi Delta Campaign and The Environmental Defense Fund.

In the four-parish region that includes Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Orleans and Jefferson parishes, sales at businesses would increase by more than $3.1 billion while household earnings would increase more than $809 million, according to Scott’s projections.

Read the full story at KPVI

Louisiana will use $20 million in BP fines to expand a coastal monitoring program

September 14, 2017 — Louisiana has received $19.5 million in fines from the 2010 BP oil spill to expand a system to collect data on the effect of coastal restoration projects.

The System-Wide Assessment and Monitoring Program, or SWAMP, monitors changes in Louisiana’s ecosystem over time.

Among other things, it evaluates how human factors like restoration projects and climate change affect the environment, including wildlife, fisheries and certain types of vegetation.

SWAMP will be used to understand changes in the ecosystem, evaluate responses to sea-level rise and protect communities from flooding and other natural disasters, said Syed Khalil, a geologist assistant administrator for the state Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority.

“Ecosystem restoration is very complex,” Khalil said. “What we are doing does not have any boilerplate template, so we need to monitor the results of restoration and then correct or modify our approach, if need be.”

Read the full story at The Lens

More wetland projects, shoreline protection sought in Louisiana coastal plan

April 19, 2017 — Louisiana’s proposed 2017 master plan update for coastal restoration and hurricane protection should contain more marsh creation projects in the Barataria and Terrebonne basins. It needs more projects protecting coastal and lake shorelines on the western part of the state. And it needs more money for flood-proofing businesses, elevating houses and moving people out of frequently flooded locations.

Those are the major themes of more than 1,300 comments submitted by the public to the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which is scheduled to vote on the master plan Wednesday (April 19). The authority’s staff has incorporated some of the suggestions in updated versions of the master plan and the 2018 annual plan, which acts as the budget of the master plan. If both documents are approved, which is expected, they will be submitted to the Legislature for a vote in its current session ending June 8.

The written comments include several complex recommendations from public officials, business leaders, scientists, fishers and the general public, along with many simpler recommendations. Too, there are hundreds of form letters distributed by a coalition of interest groups such as Native American tribes, interfaith community organizations and Vietnamese Americans.

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune