Oyster Production in the Atchafalaya/Vermilion Estuarine Complex: an Overview
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PRESENTATION
Patrick D. Banks and E. Paul Cook pbanks@wlf.louisiana.gov
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Marine Fisheries Division
Abstract
With salinities remaining well below the accepted range of tolerance for successful oyster production, the Atchafalaya/Vermilion estuarine area is not usually considered when discussing areas in Louisiana known for oysters. However, ample hard bottom and historic shell resources provide a large acreage of available reef habitat for successful larval recruitment. Despite low salinities that regularly remain below 5 parts per thousand (ppt), a reproducing population of oysters does exist each year, with concentrations heaviest around South Point of Marsh Island, along the south shore of Marsh Island, inside and outside of Southwest Pass of Marsh Island, and west of Southwest Pass in the T‐Butte area. Biological sampling in the summer of 2007 resulted in concentrations as high as 35.5 oysters per square meter on reefs near South Point. Lesser and more ephemeral metapopulations are known to also exist along the southwestern tip of Point Au Fer Island and just south of Cypremort Point. We will provide an overview of the oyster population in the Atchafalaya/Vermilion area with comparisons to other Louisiana coastal areas better known for oyster production such as Barataria Bay.
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