SLS 11RS-3132 ORIGINAL
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Regular Session, 2011
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 157
BY SENATOR MORRELL
WILDLIFE/FISHERIES DEPT. Requests the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium to conduct a study on the lack of shrimp growth
in the Barataria Basin.
A RESOLUTION1
To urge and request the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and the Louisiana2
Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) to conduct a study on the lack of3
shrimp growth in the Barataria Basin.4
WHEREAS, varied oceanic research indicates that shrimp growth is not correlated5
with variations in water quality and water levels; and6
WHEREAS, shrimp spawn offshore at depths usually exceeding eighteen meters and7
generally spawn in the spring and summer when waterbottom temperatures are between8
seventeen and twenty-nine degrees celsius, and generally cease spawning when water9
temperatures begin to decline in the fall; and10
WHEREAS, growth rates of shrimp may vary considerably due to the difference in11
water temperature, salinity, and food availability; and12
WHEREAS, the Barataria Basin is an irregularly shaped area bounded on each side13
by a distributary ridge formed by the present and former channel of the Mississippi River14
and a chain of barrier islands which separates the basin from the Gulf of Mexico; and15
WHEREAS, freshwater and sediment input to the Barataria Basin were virtually16
eliminated by the erection of flood protection levees along the Mississippi River and the17
closure of Bayou Lafourche at Donaldsonville, thereby making rainfall the only significant18 SLS 11RS-3132 ORIGINAL
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source of freshwater for the basin; and1
WHEREAS, in continual efforts to manage the varied fish zones, the LDWF opened2
the Terrebonne Basin shrimp season on May 10, 2011, and on May 16, 2011, the LDWF3
opened the Barataria Basin shrimp season; and4
WHEREAS, the LDWF acknowledges that shrimp do not grow at the same rate and5
will often stagger shrimp seasons in order to accommodate for growth rate, distribution and6
abundance; and7
WHEREAS, LUMCON was formed in 1979 to coordinate and stimulate Louisiana's8
activities in marine research and education; and9
WHEREAS, LUMCON provides coastal laboratory facilities to Louisiana10
universities, and conducts research and educational programs in the marine sciences; and11
WHEREAS, the location of the LUMCON marine center on the upper end of12
Terrebonne Bay and its proximity to the Mississippi River delta, large estuaries, and13
expansive coastal wetlands, make it an ideal venue for the study of coastal Louisiana; and14
WHEREAS, the Barataria Basin is historically known for the successful proliferation15
of shrimp; and16
WHEREAS, adverse temperatures or salinity may have reduced shrimp survival and17
growth, but also an unseasonably late cold front in May 2011, where water temperatures and18
tides dropped dramatically, cause shrimp to leave prematurely; and19
WHEREAS, along with the low temperatures and salinity modifications, there were20
also Mississippi River flood waters which run adjacent to the Barataria Basin; and21
WHEREAS, after the shrimp season opened in May 2011, it soon became evident22
that the shrimp from Barataria Basin were unusually small and considered to be nearly23
unmarketable compared to the catches from the Terrebonne Basin.24
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana25
does hereby urge and request the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Louisiana26
Universities Marine Consortium to conduct a study on the lack of shrimp growth in the27
Barataria Basin.28 SLS 11RS-3132 ORIGINAL
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The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Michelle Broussard-Johnson
DIGEST
Morrell SR No.
Requests the LDWF and LUMCON to conduct a study on the lack of shrimp growth in the
Barataria Basin.