Calcasieu Lake Destruction

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by DaPointIsDaBomb

Same thing. We plant trees to harvest and now they plant oysters to harvest. Doesn't matter if tong or by dredge the same amount of oysters are going to be harvested. It's just advanced technology. Bet all you don't push pole your pirogues to go fishing. You have trolling motors and power poles.

This statement ignores the plain fact that the ecosystem benefits of oyster reefs are not only related to the biomass of living oysters, but are also strongly related to the physical structure of oyster reefs providing valuable habitat for benthic invertebrates.

Studies have shown that tonging for oysters preserves the reef structure and the habitat benefits nearly as well as not harvesting the oysters at all. In contrast dredging destroys the reefs and results in most of the calcified material getting buried in the muck and mud resulting in a much less dynamic benthic ecosystem. Further, all the silt stirred up negatively impacts light penetration and photosynthesis.

It is much better to think about the ecosystem in terms of the food web. Everything about harvesting with tongs is better for the food web than dredging.