is sufficiently far removed from the source of fresh water so that 

 in ordinary flood years, mortalities will be negligible although 

 growth of the oysters may be inhibited for several months. The 

 replanting of the reefs in this area with seed oysters or dean 

 cultch is biologically reasonable and would be economically 

 advantageous • 



2. The oyster reefs in Area II are more susceptible to possible 

 flooding from the Mississippi River and are adjacent to the Pearl 

 River which in the past four years has had spring floods of unusual 

 magnitude. This section of Mississippi Sound may be classified as 

 marginal with respect to growing oysters. It may produce fine crops 

 of oysters for many successive years but it may just as likely fail 

 in production for as mauy more. Oyster farming in this area will 

 always have more than the usual element of chance. Environments 

 such as this have counterparts in all oyster growing areas which 



are adjacent to sources of fresh water. An accepted method of 

 culture is to take advantage of what nature provides in good years. 

 When the oysters are large enough to move, transplant them to safer 

 growing areas or bedding grounds. In using the reefs in this manner 

 as a seed bed, it is necessary to supply shells to which the young 

 oysters attach themselves. In years v^en there is no set, there 

 will usually be little fouling of the shells so that they can be 

 used the nezt year and there will be little, if any, financial loss 

 involved. Bottoms in this area which are still not usable because of 

 sand or soft mud should not be improved. The cost would be greater than 

 the probable value of oysters that might be produced. Money and effort 

 can be spent to much greater advantage in improving the many acres of 

 non-productive oyster bottoms in Mississippi Sound and in the Delta 

 area iriiich are far enough removed from sources of fresh water, 



3. In Lake Mechant and its connecting bayous. Area III, the 

 replanting of the bottoms has already been accomplished through 

 private enterprise. The wisdom of this could not be foreseen, 

 but the history of flooding in this area indicates a better than 

 even chance for moderately successful oyster harvesting. It should 

 be borne in mind, however, that the construction of the levee system 

 on the Atchafalaya Floodway (Fig, 1) and the confining of the waters 

 at' the southern outlets in the neighborhood of Morgan City, places a 

 continuing threat to the property lying south and eastward, including 

 Lake Mechant, In years of normal spring floods , the waters will be 

 retained in the artificial barriers, but in years of excessive floods, 

 as in 1945, there will inevitably occur an inundation of Area III* 

 The effects of such flooding on the oyster beds will again be en- 

 tirely dependent on natiiral causes, including the magnitude of the 

 flood and the time of the year in which it occurs. The desirability 

 of spending money in building reefs in this area is highly q.uestion- 

 able, A better use for the grounds would be as an area for "fattening* 

 oysters in the periods between spring freshets, 



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