Louisiana is Replacing Thousands of Fish Killed By Hurricanes
2020 was a record year in so many bad ways. The pandemic, the election, the economy, and so many other facets of our previous year spiraled out of control. In Louisiana we had yet another one to situation to deal with - hurricanes.
The 2020 season produced 30 named storms - 5 of which made landfall here in the Sportsman's Paradise. 2 were tropical storms (Cristobal and Marco), and the other 3 were major hurricanes (Laura, Delta, and Zeta). One of those (Laura) was the strongest storm to hit our state in over 150 years! That storm alone racked up $19 billion in damage - but we're still tallying the total of what mother nature unleased on Louisiana in 2020.
One of the lesser known tragedies of these storms was the damage they did to fish populations. Large fish-kill events were reported in several areas that these storms ravished, depleting whole populations of fish and virtually destroying some habitats.
Luckily, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced today that they would be addressing this issue by restocking these area in order to help these populations bounce back. According to KLFY, that includes a massive amount of fish.
The operation actually kicked off last week when the LDWF added 22,000 bluegill, 50 pounds of threadfin shad, 1,200 Florida largemouth bass, 8,000 red-ear sunfish and 10,500 white crappie to Bundick Lake (between DeRidder and Grant, Louisiana). The plan also reportedly includes rebuilding fish populations in Lake Prien and Lake Charles as well.