Communities with more oil and gas development within a short driving distance, or better access to good fish habitat, generally score higher on socioeconomic factors than the rest of Louisiana’s coast, according to a new study from The Water Institute of the Gulf.
The report, funded by the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, explores trends in Louisiana’s oil and gas infrastructure since the 1950s, as well as the ecosystem functions and socioeconomic well-being of communities in coastal Louisiana, according to a news release from the institute.
Researchers used data in an attempt to find any linkages between a coastal community’s socioeconomic well-being, oil and gas infrastructure and the ecosystem function of nearby fish and shellfish habitats, according to the news release.
“Understanding the long history of resilient human communities in coastal Louisiana that have had to adapt over time to changing environmental, economic and social conditions is vital to applying research in decision-making processes,” says Scott Hemmerling, director of People, Resources and Technology, at the Water Institute of the Gulf and co-primary investigator on the project, in a statement.
Researchers identified a correlation between levels of socioeconomic well-being and close proximity—within a 10-minute drive—to coastal areas with high industrial development, the report says. In addition, researchers found a positive correlation between a community and its proximity to areas of habitat that can strongly support fish and shellfish.
The density of Louisiana’s oil and gas coastal infrastructure expanded rapidly between 1960 and 2010, the report says, reflecting a shift from predominantly onshore and nearshore extraction to offshore and deepwater Outer Continental Shelf extraction.
The estimated suitability of habitats for fish and shellfish varied across all coastal regions, increasing coastwide from 1960 through 2000 but showing a significant decline in 2010, the report says. This period included a handful of major hurricanes, the BP oil spill in 2010 and high Mississippi River flow events, but it still may indicate the coast is losing its resilience to maintain a suitable habitat for fish and shellfish, the report says.
