More than one culprit — a many- 



The problem is a little more complicated, accord- 

 ing to Fentress ("Red") Munden of the Oyster Re- 

 habilitation Section of the Division of Marine 

 Fisheries. He agrees that state oyster production 

 has dropped considerably in the past 25 years, al- 

 though the drop has leveled off in the last five years. 

 But fresh water intrusion is only part of the cause. 



Extreme overharvesting at the turn of the cen- 

 tury is still hurting today's oyster production, 

 Munden said. And passage of minimum wage laws 

 helped close the oyster shucking houses that had 

 produced a major source of cultch — the broken 

 shells scattered on the water's bottom to catch 

 oyster spat, or seed. With less readily available 

 cultch, there was less shell material going back 

 into the water to develop oyster beds, Munden ex- 

 plained. Harvesting pressures, particularly in Rose 

 Bay which has an exceptionally fine oyster, also 

 took their toll, he said. Recently low prices due to 

 low oyster demand have encouraged fishermen to 



water will eventually wind its way to Rose Bay 

 itself. 



diversify and depend more on crabs and shrimp, 

 he added. 



"Fresh water definitely plays a part, but oyster 

 production is very complex. You can't put your 

 finger on one thing and say 'Aha, this is it,' " Mun- 

 den said. "I can't deny, though, that I feel very 

 strongly that fresh water intrusion is a problem. 



eted situation 



But we'd do better to approach it not from oyster 

 production, but from shrimp — they're more sus- 

 ceptible to water changes." 



A study of juvenile shrimp in Rose Bay showed 

 that fresh water intrusion definitely disrupted the 

 salinity of small creeks in the area. The result was 

 a smaller shrimp harvest by fishermen, particular- 

 ly if salinity dipped and fluctuated during the 

 critical early spring months. 



The study is not conclusive, though, according 

 to its author, Preston Pate, of the Division of 

 Marine Fisheries. The state really does not know 

 the extent of the fresh water intrusion problem, 

 Pate said. 



To find the "truth," the Environmental Manage- 

 ment Commission has authorized another study, 

 based on the demands in the Rose Bay petition. 

 This study is expected to take three years and will 

 look at the problem, its solutions and their costs 

 and benefits as well as possible legislation. 



Wrinkles in the law 



Right now most fresh water intrusion is not 

 under any government jurisdiction. State dredge 

 and fill laws apply only to marsh areas and estua- 

 rine water. And, according to Pate and permit co- 

 ordinator John Parker, much of the draining is 

 done where there is either no marsh, not enough 

 to justify refusal of a permit or in areas that do not 

 drain directly into the estuaries. 



The Army Corps of Engineers was scheduled to 

 gain regulatory control this summer over activity 

 in wetlands adjacent to tributaries of navigable 

 waters. President Ford issued a moratorium on 

 the law, however, and the wording would exclude 

 much of the land now being drained and all ditches 

 now in operation, according to Corps spokesman 

 Wayne Wright. 



Sedimentation control laws apply to the silt 

 flowing in the water, but not the freshwater itself. 

 And agricultural and forestry lands are exempt, 

 according to Taylor Currin, Chief Engineer in the 

 Department of Natural and Economic Resources 

 (DNER) Land Quality Section. 



The Coastal Area Management Act, with its 

 provisions for designating special areas of environ- 

 mental concern, also excludes farming and logging 

 operations. Attempts to change the law so it would 

 apply to farming or logging would be "practically 

 impossible politically," according to one DNER 

 official. 



(See "Plodding," page four) 



