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Fisheries in a Changing Delta

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Perspectives on the Restoration of the Mississippi Delta

Part of the book series: Estuaries of the World ((EOTW))

Abstract

Numerous investigations have demonstrated relationships between fisheries yields and the high primary productivities typical of estuaries and estuarine plume ecosystems. Along with the loss of wetlands, presumably so go functions related to them such as commercial harvests of fisheries. However, perhaps the most perplexing aspect of the Mississippi River delta ecosystem is the fact that there is little indication that fisheries productivity has decreased. Why aren’t landings decreasing? We favor the explanation that fisheries of today reflect a degraded ecosystem attributable to environmental damages that began in the 1920s or earlier but that accelerated during the twentieth century. There are a few thorough reviews of differential use of habitat by estuarine fishes from other deltaic ecosystems that may allow us to speculate about how the loss of habitat in Louisiana may impact fisheries production. Greater than 75 % of the species that support fisheries in Louisiana are considered to be estuarine-resident or -dependent, and therefore it is likely to end badly for the Sportsman’s Paradise if large-scale restoration is not possible, or if possible, not undertaken. Large-scale restoration will cause shifts in the locations of the major fisheries but it may be the only hope of maintaining sustainable fisheries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    James H. Jr. Cowan & John W. Day

  2. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA

    Linda A. Deegan

Authors
  1. James H. Jr. Cowan
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  2. Linda A. Deegan
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  3. John W. Day
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Correspondence to James H. Jr. Cowan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    John W. Day

  2. School of Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    G. Paul Kemp

  3. Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Angelina M. Freeman

  4. Mississippi River Delta Restoration Camp, National Wildlife Federation, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    David P. Muth

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Jr. Cowan, J., Deegan, L., Day, J. (2014). Fisheries in a Changing Delta. In: Day, J., Kemp, G., Freeman, A., Muth, D. (eds) Perspectives on the Restoration of the Mississippi Delta. Estuaries of the World. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8733-8_7

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