2020 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 56
BY SENATOR HEWITT AND REPRESENTATIVES BOURRIAQUE AND GAROFALO
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries to cooperate in developing projects and programs to
rehabilitate the productivity of the oyster resource, promote the viability of the oyster
industry in Louisiana, assist the oyster industry with responding to a changing coast,
and address competing uses for coastal water bottoms, including integrated coastal
protection.
WHEREAS, the state, through the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
(CPRA), implements integrated coastal protection to reduce if not eliminate the catastrophic
rate of coastal land loss, as a high-priority public policy of the state, as authorized and
required by La. Const. Art. IX, ยง1 and R.S. 49:214.1, et seq., including water bottoms that
are or may be leased by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) for
oyster production; and
WHEREAS, the state, through the LDWF, is charged with the protection,
conservation, and replenishment of Louisiana's renewable, aquatic natural resources,
including support of the Louisiana oyster industry and development of the oyster resource,
and as authorized by R.S. 56:421 et seq., leases its water bottoms to private oyster fishermen
for oyster production; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to R.S. 49:214.1, the legislature declared that it is the policy
of the state to achieve a proper balance between development and conservation and to
encourage the use of coastal resources; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana's oyster resource is one of the largest and most valuable
oyster resources in the nation, maintaining a dominant force in the Gulf-wide and national
marketplace, and the legislature concurs that there is a public and economic interest in
providing for the continued existence of the oyster industry of this state and preserving and
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enhancing the oyster resource in this state; and
WHEREAS, Governor John Bel Edwards has made pursuing initiatives that will
ensure a sustainable oyster industry one of his second term coastal priorities; and
WHEREAS, the 2017 Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast identifies
projects designed to build and maintain land, reduce flood risk to our citizens and
communities, and provide habitats to support ecosystems that will assist in providing for the
continued existence of Louisiana's economically important seafood industry and preserving
and enhancing the seafood resources that support it, including oysters; and
WHEREAS, oyster production on the public oyster areas of Louisiana is at an
all-time low and responsible rehabilitation of this valuable economic and ecological resource
is needed; and
WHEREAS, it is important to identify options that could be viable in their attempts
to assist the oyster industry in responding to a changing coast and conditions; and
WHEREAS, physical space to work in the coastal zone is also at a premium with
multiple users oftentimes vying for the same water bottom, and this can sometimes create
direct special conflicts between CPRA projects and existing oyster leases; and
WHEREAS, the legislature seeks to support and protect, to the maximum extent
practicable, the oyster leaseholders in the enjoyment of their rights to cultivate leased water
bottoms and also identify areas where production is absent; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission and LDWF have
recently taken important steps to assist the oyster industry in future advancement by
implementing the oyster lease moratorium lifting process and by undesignating nearly forty
thousand water bottom acres of public oyster seed grounds to be allowed for future oyster
leasing; and
WHEREAS, LDWF and CPRA have a long history of working together to ensure
continued sustainability of the oyster industry and to identify, avoid, and mitigate conflicts
with integrated coastal protection projects; and
WHEREAS, LDWF and CPRA are currently working together to develop a
Louisiana Oyster Management and Rehabilitation Strategic Plan to guide the Louisiana
public oyster resource and oyster industry to a more productive future and to set forth a path
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for recovery and maintenance of Louisiana's oyster resources, for promotion and
maintenance of a thriving oyster resource and industry in Louisiana, and for assistance with
industry adaptation and development, while reducing conflicts in the coastal zone; and
WHEREAS, LDWF and CPRA's work has already identified potential projects,
programs, and funding that can assist with implementing a Louisiana oyster management
and rehabilitation strategic plan and support sustainability of the oyster industry through
direct and indirect means; and
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the legislature that LDWF and CPRA continue to work
together for the benefit of the Louisiana oyster industry in order to promote and maintain the
sustainability of a thriving Louisiana oyster resource and industry while also fully
implementing the plan to eliminate the catastrophic rate of coastal land loss, as a
high-priority public policy of the state.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries continue to work together to:
(1) Develop a Louisiana Oyster Management and Rehabilitation Strategic Plan that
will guide the Louisiana public oyster resource and oyster industry to a more productive
future and provide a path for recovery and maintenance of Louisiana's oyster resources, for
promotion and maintenance of a thriving oyster resource and industry in Louisiana, and for
assistance with industry sustainability and development, while reducing conflicts in the
coastal zone.
(2) Develop initiatives to be utilized to rehabilitate, where practicable, the
productivity of the public oyster areas in Louisiana, assist the oyster industry in evolving to
a changing coast, and address competing uses for coastal water bottoms while also fully
implementing the coastal master plan to eliminate the catastrophic rate of coastal land loss,
as a high-priority public policy of the state.
(3) Identify funding sources to implement programs and projects to promote and
maintain a thriving oyster resource and industry in Louisiana and also maintain a balance
with other coastal uses and needs in order to allow for the most efficient utilization of coastal
areas.
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(4) Prioritize, sequence, and select restoration projects to benefit the coastal and
oyster resources, including developing additional information on restoration approaches and
techniques, potential project concepts, and monitoring needs, including but not limited to the
following projects and programs: (a) cultch planting, (b) hatchery-raised oyster planting, (c)
private oyster lease rehabilitation (POLR) program, and (d) off-bottom oyster aquaculture.
(5) Study actual and potential impacts to oysters and the oyster industry in Louisiana
resulting from natural processes, coastal erosion, implementation of integrated coastal
protection projects, and other outside competing interests, in order to develop strategies to
address such impacts and identify options that could be viable in assisting the oyster industry
response to a changing coast.
(6) Develop overall strategies to promote and maintain the sustainability of a thriving
Louisiana oyster resource and industry while also balancing the needs of the state of
Louisiana to reduce, if not eliminate, the catastrophic rate of coastal land loss, as a
high-priority public policy of the state.
(7) Coordinate all such efforts, planning, programs, and projects with oyster resource
and industry stakeholders, including the Oyster Task Force.
(8) Finalize a Louisiana Oyster Management and Rehabilitation Strategic Plan by
December 2020 and deliver copies of the final Strategic Plan to the President of the Senate,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate Natural Resources Committee, the
House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, the Coastal Protection and
Restoration Board, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, and the Oyster Task
Force.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
governor, the chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board, the
executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the secretary of the
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the Louisiana Oyster Task Force.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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