West of the Mississippi River, in the area of Lake Mechant, a 

 similar situation occurred. In this section (Fig, 1) , flood waters 

 coming south along what is known as the Atchafalaya Floodway were 

 confined by a series of levees as far as Morgan City, Here the 

 volume of water was too great to pass through the artificial pass 

 known as the Wax Lake Outlet, and the natural pass of the lower 

 Atchafalaya River at Morgan City, As a result, the waters spread 

 out over the marshland to the southeast and eventually some drained 

 into Lake Mechant and its connecting bayous. This area is made up 

 of privately leased bedding grounds for oysters. It has been testified 

 that in July of 1945, the mortality here was 100 per cent except in the 

 southeast part of the lake, where an unspecified portion of the oyster 

 population escaped damage. 



In view of the testimony presented at the Congressional hearings, 

 there is no reason to doubt that a large quantity of oysters was 

 destroyed in these areas in 1945, and that their loss was due to the 

 intrusion of excessive flood waters. Nor is there any question that 

 the losses created considerable hardship on not only the private 

 lessees in the State of Louisiana and the oyster fishermen of Miss- 

 issippi, but also on the people concerned in processing oysters for 

 the market in both States, Representations were made to the Congress 

 for reimbrusenent for the damages suffered in the Mississippi Sound 

 area to the extent of $3,000,000 and for over $1,000,000 in the Lake 

 Mechant section, 



SCOPE OF FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE SURVEX" 



It is not the purpose of this inquiry to investigate the validity 

 of the financial claims, but rather to determine the desirability and 

 methods for the rehabilitation, replanting and maintenance of the 

 oyster beds in question. 



The history of these oyster reefs in the period from 1945 rmtil 

 1948, when the present survey was initiated, has revealed certain 

 conditions which differentiates them naturally into three areas 

 having distinct characteristics. These areas are described briefly 

 to clarify the aims of this survey. 



Area I, The ten major oyster producing reefs of the State of 

 Mississippi lie in a 200 square mile section of Mississippi Sound, 

 extending west from Cat Island to a line running due south from the 

 town of Waveland, The southern part of this section includes natural 

 reefs within the borders of the Louisiana marshes. This area ex- 

 perienced a 50 to 100 per cent mortality in the oyster population 

 during the flood of 1945, The hurricane of 1947 caused additional 

 damage which was primarily on the inshore shallow water reefs. In 



