volume and price of the commercial shrimp harvest. Recreational catches are 

 considerable, but not included in this estimate. The actual total economic value is three 

 times higher than the dockside value as a result of value added during processing and 

 delivery (Jones et al. 1974). Thus over the next 20 years the present expected wetland 

 loss rate of at least 1% annually could result in a cumulative commercial fishing 

 economic loss of I.I billion dollars to Louisiana. A substantial proportion of the current 

 wetlands loss is a direct result of new human activities (Craig et al. 1980). If wetland 

 loss were reduced by only 10% over the next 20 years (an average 0.9% loss rate average) 

 the general savings in fishing catch value would be worth 5 million dollars annually, or a 

 total of 100 million dollars over the 20 years. Small percentage changes in large 

 numbers, when accumulated over two decades become a very significant number. It is a 

 number worth considering when the long-term benefits are weighed against the 

 immediate costs of a quick recovery of non-renewable resources. A small investment in 

 the future now may have potentially less painful consequences later. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 



This report is Publication CEL-SG-82-OIO of the Coastal Ecology Laboratory 

 Center for Wetland Resources, Louisiana State University. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Barrett, B.B. 1975. Environmental conditions relative to shrimp production in coastal 

 Louisiana. La. Dep. Wild. Fish. Tech. Bull. 15. 22 pp. 



Chambers, D.G. 1980. An analysis of nekton communities in the upper Barataria Bay 

 Basin, Louisiana. M.S. Thesis. Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge. 286 pp. 



Charnov, E.L., G.H. Orians, and K. Hyatt. 1976. Ecological implications of resource 

 depression. Am. Nat. 110:247-259. 



Condrey, R.E. 1979. Draft environmental impact statement and fishery management 

 plan for the shrimp fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, United States waters. Louisiana 

 State Univ., Center for Wetland Resources, Baton Rouge. 



Craig,N.J., R.E. Turner, and J.W. Day, Jr. 1980. Wetland losses and their consequence 

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Doi, T., K. Okada, and K. Isibashi. 1973. Environmental assessment on survival of 

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 76:37-52. 



Jones, L.L., J.W. Adams, W.L. Griffin, and J. A. Allen. 1974. Impact of commercial 

 shrimp landings on the economy of Texas and coastal regions. Tex. Agric. Exp. Stn. 

 Publ. TAMU SG-75-204. 18pp. 



McHugh, J.L. 1966. Management of estuarine fishes. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. 3: 133- 

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