About the LO-SPAT Project
The Challenge
Oysters need salt in their environment to live and thrive. Significant increases in rainfall and flooding in Louisiana over the past two decades have introduced too much freshwater into oyster habitats. Freshwater intrusions are expected to continue with ongoing climate change and coastal restoration. Oysters cannot survive in stressful, low salinity environments. However, we know that tolerance to low salinity varies in the oyster population and is passed down from parents to offspring.
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What's at Stake?
The Gulf of Mexico produces 46% of the nation’s oysters, and the regional oyster industry has an annual value of $66 million. The decline in oyster population health and production has affected oystermen, restaurants, coastal communities, and the overall economy. There are ecological impacts as well. Oyster reefs provide ecosystem services to estuaries and coasts, by filtering massive volumes of water, acting as nursery habitat for other important fisheries species, and protecting shorelines from erosion.
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The Solution
New techniques in oyster restoration, selective breeding and oyster production provide opportunities to better manage and support the oyster economy in Louisiana. LO-SPAT will apply expertise in coastal ecology, environmental monitoring, organismal biology, economics, aquaculture and other disciplines to provide approaches and techniques to promote oyster sustainability in the face of ongoing and future environmental challenges in support of the Louisiana Oyster Management & Rehabilitation Strategic Plan and the goals of the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan.
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