The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has completed the construction of 25 acres oyster reefs in the eastside of Calcasieu Lake to increase oyster habitat and fisheries production.
The construction process, known as cultch planting, is a proven habitat improvement technique used by LDWF.
This project is part of the Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (DARP/EA) for the 2006 Calcasieu River Oil Spill. Its primary goal was to create a productive oyster reef on public oyster areas to compensate for injuries to water column organisms from this Incident.
Since 1917, LDWF has placed over 1.5M cubic yards of cultch material on nearly 30,000 acres with positive results.
The 2023 Calcasieu project placed about 17,500 tons of crushed limestone onto the Calcasieu Lake Public Oyster Areas to create a total of 25 acres of artificial oyster reef.
Planting design included a 2-inch base layer of material and a grid pattern of 10” high, elevated rows spaced approximately seventy-five feet apart in order to increase reef height, minimizing the chances of sedimentation and hypoxia-induced mortality.
For more information, visit us at www.wlf.la.gov. (LDWF 12/01/23)
LDWF commission meets Dec. 7
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 7 at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters at 2000 Quail Drive in Baton Rouge.
A live audio/video broadcast of this meeting will be available via Zoom. To view via webinar, register at: https://wlf-la.zoom.us/
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