by Billi Gauthier
Bren Haase, a director of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, still remembers the moments he spent in a helicopter, looking down at Lake Salvador southwest of New Orleans after Hurricane Ida. What used to be a lush ecosystem was now indistinguishable from above.
“It was quite difficult to tell that it was a lake, because so much floating marsh from the south had been blown up into the lake,” Haase says. “Many square miles of land were lost to Hurricane Ida.”
Louisiana seafood is at risk from the environmental impacts of coastal erosion and hurricanes.
Louisiana’s spreading land loss is documented dating back to 1932, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. At the hands of environmental threats, Louisiana is losing an important sheltering element for native sea creatures’ reproduction–its marshes.
Dr. Gary LaFleur, director of Nicholls’ Center for Bayou Studies, says that while hurricanes deal heavy immediate damage, coastal land loss weakens delicate shelter for sea creatures in the wake of impending hurricanes.
“The marsh, a buffer zone, is gone,” LaFleur says. “Shrimp and crabs can survive a whole lot of fishing pressure because they make a whole lot of eggs.”
"The marsh, a buffer zone, is gone. Shrimp and crabs can survive a whole lot of fishing pressure because they make a whole lot of eggs."
Fish, crabs and shrimp all lay their eggs in the safety of the marsh to hatch and repopulate the area. The larger issue, LaFleur says, is the impact of potential overfishing combined with the loss of marshes.
The phenomenon is not only a troubling one for local fishing industries. As mapping becomes inaccurate, it also proves to have individual repercussions, according to Haase.
“Almost anybody who has spent a lot of time along the coast and looked at their GPS software saw it mark they were on land,” Haase says. “And they were actually in a boat on open water.”
Haase recalls removing a number of place names from nautical charts in the Barataria Basin as they each lost their distinguishing marks. No longer lakes, bays or things of that nature.
“They were essentially gone.”
