Louisiana Sea Grant Personnel Publications
Louisiana Sea Grant personnel produce numerous publications annually on a variety of topics. This page is designed to help visitors quickly locate the publication s/he desires.
In September 2005, Hurricane Rita pushed a 10-foot storm surge into the town of Delcambre and across surrounding agricultural fields. The surge flooded all but 25 of the 903 structures in the town’s corporate limits. With the assistance of Louisiana Sea Grant, a recovery steering committee composed of community members drafted a business plan to revitalize the local economy by filling a niche for a working waterfront that will support the fishing industry between Intracoastal City and Morgan City. The following report outlines the committee’s objectives as well as obstacles which need to be overcome.
Since 1968, Louisiana Sea Grant has worked to promote stewardship of the state’s coastal resources through research, education and outreach. Learn more about accomplishments and highlights from the previous year in our Putting Science to Work for Coastal Communities factsheet.
An Identification Guide to the Macroscopic Invertebrates of the Lake Pontchartrain Estuary
This guide was prepared to facilitate the identification of invertebrates from the Lake Pontchartrain estuary. It should also be useful in the identification of the invertebrate fauna of similar oligohaline estuaries of the northern Gulf of America.
Reconstruction of the St. Bernard Parish cypress swamp and marshes is among the most effective approaches to mitigating seasonal storms while ensuring the integrity of existing storm protection infrastructure, such as levees. This report provides the background, rationale and process for rebuilding the marsh and swamp habitats within the Bayou Bienvenue Central Wetlands Area.
Better Bycatch Reduction Devices
A BRD is a device or modification to shrimp nets that lets finfish escape during tow or before catch is brought onboard. Ideally, it allows for the most fish to escape with minimal loss in shrimp. More information on certified BRDs for use in the Gulf, quick check guides and other reference materials can be found here.
Coastal Clips is the Louisiana Sea Grant’s quarterly newsletter.
LSU Coastal Roots Seedling Nursery Program establishes wetland seedling nurseries at schools within the coastal zone of Louisiana. Students from second grade through high school in south Louisiana are taking part in this project. Students managing the nurseries oversee the entire growth cycle of the plants, from seed germination to the planting of the seedlings in the restoration program, during the fall semester. Lesson plans are available at the link.
Direct Sales and Collecting Local Sales Tax
These publications were produced by the Louisiana Sea Grant Law & Policy Program. Information is accurate as of the date on the publication. Federal, state and local regulations can change at any time, so always check with the local government to make sure that you are meeting all necessary requirements.
A series of federal disaster aid factsheets and videos – available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese – are available at the link. Topics include: storm disaster declarations, common types of federal disaster aid, housing assistance, applying for FEMA disaster assistance, debris removal – among others – are available.
A series of disaster preparedness factsheets and videos – available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese – are available at the link. Topics include: portable generators, electrical safety, septic system maintenance during floods, shutters and storm preparation.
Economic Analysis of Alternative Oyster Culture in Louisiana
In January 2023, Louisiana Sea Grant commissioned Daniel Petrolia, Laborde Endowed Chair, to conduct an economic analysis of the Alternative Oyster Culture sector, and to assess its feasibility in terms of existing and future economic capacity. The results of Petrolia’s study indicate a number of challenges – especially in the areas of production scale (farm size) and market potential.
Interested in starting an ecotourism business but unsure of where to start? In each 40-minute webinar, learn about just a few of the items to consider when starting an ecotourism business.
Louisiana Sea Grant extension agents and specialist provide coastal stakeholders with a plethora of information through face-to-face meetings, workshops and publications. This page is a portal to recent factsheets and other publications authored by Louisiana Sea Grant personnel that reside on their office or lab websites.
Flood Mitigation Planning: Bayou des Allemands
During tropical storm events in the region, Des Allemands and adjacent St. Charles Parish are subject to flooding. The parish department of public works erects temporary protection, however there is the need for a long-term, more permanent solution. Several ideas have been suggested and evaluated by the parish, all costly and beyond its financial means. Several alternatives have been proposed and evaluated, and the following publication summarize the various alternative flood mitigation measures and recommends a course of action.
Harbors of refuge are places where commercial fishing vessels can tie up during storm events. Every vessel lost has a direct economic impact on the owner, the navigability of waterways and those ultimately charged with removing the vessel. Harbors of Refuge: A Pilot Study in Coastal Louisiana can be found at the link.
Jefferson Parish Lakefront Restoration
Hurricane Katrina made landfall in late August 2005 followed four weeks later by Hurricane Rita. Flood and wind damage occurred along much of the Gulf coast, including southern Louisiana. This report, developed by Louisiana State University senior landscape architecture students working with the East Jefferson Parish Levee Board, contains proposals for providing storm protection along Lake Pontchartrain by rebuilding wetlands and coastal marsh where both existed prior to urban development in the Bucktown and surrounding neighborhoods.
Lagniappe Fisheries Newsletter
Lagniappe is the Louisiana Sea Grant and LSU AgCenter fisheries newsletter. This monthly newsletter provides a variety of commercial and recreational fishing information including species profiles, state and federal regulation changes, shrimp landings information, and general interest stories related to fisheries in Louisiana.
A living shoreline is a form of coastline restoration and protection that incorporates natural materials, such as oyster shells, rocks and native marsh grasses. These types of projects can reduce erosion and protect property by stabilizing the shoreline and dissipating wave energy. A Homeowners Guide to Living Shoreline Permits in Coastal Louisiana can be downloaded from the link.
Louisiana Coastal Law Newsletter
The Louisiana Coastal Law Newsletter is devoted to educating Sea Grants’ constituency on various legal issues affecting the state’s coast. The LCL newsletter contains legal analyses of state and federal court cases, coastal issues affecting Louisiana and informs readers on state laws and regulations.
Louisiana Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook
The Louisiana Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook outlines strategies to reduce, but not eliminate, the risks from coastal natural hazards such as storm surge, other flooding, subsidence and sea level rise, and approaches that are designed to serve as an extra layer of protection or an additional line of defense from those hazards. The guidebook also demonstrates how communities can adopt a flexible approach to hazard planning and accommodate a wide range of attitudes toward restrictions on the use of property to mitigate hazards.
Louisiana Homeowners Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards
This handbook was created to help residents prepare for natural hazards so that risks to family and property may be reduced. While it is never possible to eliminate all potential damage from a natural hazard, as a homeowner you can act and implement many small and cost-effective steps that could significantly lower your vulnerability.
New Orleans Community Rebuilding and Hazard Mitigation
Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, faculty and senior landscape architecture students at Louisiana State University decided to research and cultivate appropriate strategies for rebuilding New Orleans, with an emphasis on developing non-structural and land use plans. Each student selected an area or neighborhood in the New Orleans area to focus on in greater depth. The following document contains a summary of the work accomplished by the students.
Nature Place-Based Learning Field Experience Planning Guide
This planning guide is designed to support educators in developing meaningful, nature-based learning experiences that connect students to the local environment while meeting educational goals.
Navigating the Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Louisiana Sea Grant Law & Policy Program has developed a series of information sheets and narrated presentations to help those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita navigate Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs and related legal issues during the rebuilding process. The information sheets and presentations answer questions about the National Flood Insurance Program, flood elevations, rebuilding after a flood and other reconstruction matters.
In July 2017, the Louisiana Legislature directed Louisiana Sea Grant to study and make recommendations on the creation of public servitudes to facilitate increased recreational access in coastal waterways. This report provides a general overview of the context, history, and drivers of this issue; describes the process utilized for soliciting stakeholder input; and details economic and legal considerations for ten preliminary options that could be used to partially mitigate this conflict.
Recreational Fishing and Boating Opportunities
In recent years, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike caused significant damage in many southern Louisiana communities. Along with this damage came initial and long-term economic loss. One approach to spur economic development in these areas is to provide sites and facilities which provide access to the communities’ diverse and beautiful natural environments. Through Louisiana State University’s AgCenter, area agricultural agents contacted the university’s Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture to request the production of several pilot project designs for recreational fishing and boating access.
The Gulf reef fish complex comprises 31 species of snappers, jacks, tilefishes, groupers, hogfish and triggerfish. Found on both artificial and natural structures in the Gulf, these fishes hold high importance in recreational and commercial fisheries. Factsheets on depredation, venting a fish and identification can be found at the link.
Socioeconomic Study of the Recreational For-Hire Fishing Industry in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
Coastal communities in the Gulf depend on marine recreational and commercial fishing for employment, income and tourism. Despite the sizeable catch and participation rates for recreational fishing, most fisheries economics research focuses on the commercial sector, for which more verifiable data are available. Commercial landings totaled 1.4 billion pounds with an estimated dockside value of $629 million in the Gulf in 2009. Recreational anglers, including 2.8 million Gulf states residents, made 23 million trips and caught 173 million fish in the Gulf in 2009. One important part of the recreational sector is the recreational for-hire (RFH) industry.
Soft shell blue crab aquaculture is one of the oldest aquaculture industries in the United States. In the recent past, soft-shell aquaculture in the U.S. produced more than one million pounds valued at over $5.5 million. However, this industry has been in decline over the last 30 years. Instructional factsheets and videos on operating a crab shedding system are available at the link.
Tribal Coastal Community Index
The purpose of this self-assessment is to provide tribal leaders and community members with a simple and inexpensive method of assessing community disaster preparedness and response plans. Tribal leaders can complete this self-assessment using existing sources of information from their community. Click the link.
Users’ Guide to Louisiana’s Oyster Lease Relocation Program
This pamphlet is a users’ guide to the OLRP. The guide is not an official copy of the law and regulations and should not be relied on as such. It contains a summary of the statutes and regulations governing the OLRP. It follows the July 2000 regulations and notes the major differences between the July 2000 regulations and the December 1998 regulations.