Effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Sport Fish Community Abundance in the Eastern Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana

Abstract

The Atchafalaya River basin (ARB), a 5,000-km² river–floodplain system in south-central Louisiana, provides one of the most popular fisheries in the state for anglers pursuing bass Micropterus spp., sunfishes Lepomis spp., crappies Pomoxis spp., and catfishes Ictalurus spp. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck in August and September 2005, resulting in tremendous changes in habitat and water quality in the ARB. Although the short-term and long-term impacts of these storms on this floodplain ecosystem remain poorly understood, a long-term fish and water quality monitoring program has provided data with which to analyze sport fish abundance in the eastern ARB 2 years before and 2 years after the hurricanes. The results of this analysis suggest that location within the basin influenced the effect of the hurricanes on sport fish abundance and that overall sport fish catch per unit effort (CPUE) decreased after the hurricanes. Within the study area, sunfishes in Bayou Postillion, bass and sunfishes in Murphy Lake, and sunfishes in Bayou Sorrel all exhibited lower CPUE after the hurricanes. We believe that our CPUE data reflect changes in the abundance of ARB sport fish, and our analyses suggest that these populations, particularly those of sunfishes, declined significantly and remained suppressed for at least 2 years after the hurricanes.