Many inland bodies of water in western Louisiana are receiving too much sediment and nutrient pollution from upstream which has caused declines in the health of many fisheries. These bodies of water include many traditional lake-based fisheries of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana (CTL), and fisheries used by visitors, providing critical tourism and economic development dollars to the region.
The goal of the Coastal Indigenous Fisheries Assessment (CIFA) is to study the long-term health and ecology of fisheries and water bodies in west-central Louisiana. This project will be a collaboration between leaders and scientists from the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, Louisiana State University and Florida State University to figure out the best way to restore fish habitats that local fishermen use for sport and for their livelihoods.
Scientists will study archaeological sites in the region to build a data record of the types of plants and animals, including fish, that were harvested by people in the past. These data will be compared to contemporary fishery conditions in the region to understand how the environment and fishery has changed over time, as well as identifying current vulnerabilities.
Products from this work will describe how fish habitat has changed over several hundreds of years, propose methods for developing resilient and sustainable fishing practices and habitats, and create methods for assessing long-term fishery and habitat health. These applied scientific approaches can be used to help coastal communities throughout the gulf region.
