Ceremonies held for Fisheries Research Lab

• By JOE MACALUSO
• Advocate Outdoors writer
• Published: Jul 1, 2009

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GRAND ISLE — State agency brass and state and local elected officials turned out Tuesday for ribbon-cutting ceremonies for Louisiana’s $23 million Fisheries Research Lab.

The 35,000-square foot, multi-building complex replaces the Lyle St. Amant Biological Lab on Grand Terre Island, which is east of Grand Isle across Barataria Pass.

The 12,000- square foot St. Amant Lab, constructed in 1957, was hit hard by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, then by hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008.

The new lab overlooks the bay on the north side of Grand Isle. It’s located on Ludwig Lane behind the Grand Isle City Hall and the island’s Catholic church.

It’s on 30 acres of land owned by the Grand Isle Port Commission.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will manage and staff the lab.

LDWF secretary Robert Barham said Louisiana and Alaska produce more than half of the seafood taken from U.S. waters and the new lab “…will help Louisiana maintain its dominance and prestige as one of the greatest seafood producers in the world.”

Plans are for state marine biologists and the lab staff to study finfish, shrimp, oysters, crabs and other marine life including marine mammals.

LDWF assistant secretary Randy Pausina said the state’s Artificial Reef Program and the state-federal Sport Fish Restoration Program will be based at the new lab.

“This facility is designed to help recreational and commercial fisheries of our state,” Pausina said.

Barham said incorporating a state-of-the-art research facility with an added dimension of safety and durability were paramount targets in the design and construction phases.

The finished floors of all buildings are 18 feet above sea level, and the buildings are constructed to survive winds in excess of 150 miles per hour.

Pausina said while research is a top priority, building the lab on Grand Isle allows students and other interested groups road access to the lab and “provides an education component to this facility that we didn’t have on at the lab on Grand Terre (island).”