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Home > Current News > 2004

News: 2004

Schexnayder Honored for Coastal Stewardship
Posted: 4/5/04

Sea Grant Fisheries Extension Agent Mark Schexnayder in the LSU Agricultural
Center is one of four recipients of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana's 2004 Coastal Stewardship Award. Schexnayder was nominated for his role in the creation of artificial fishing reefs in Lake Pontchartrain and ongoing efforts to restore fisheries habitat in several local waterways.

He helped to form the Pontchartrain Artificial Reef Working Group, which includes the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, and is active in other efforts to encourage outdoor recreational opportunities. Since 2001, this project has created five artificial reef sites in Lake Pontchartrain.

"These newly added hard structures develop a bottom habitat for invertebrate organisms, creating a basis for a food chain for large vertebrate species such as speckled trout and flounder. These reefs would primarily be fish attractors. Nevertheless, the reef will generally provide a much more productive habitat than the surrounding soft lake bottom. They should enhance fishing opportunities in Lake Pontchartrain," Schexnayder said.

Some of Schexnayder's other projects include outreach programs with the Vietnamese commercial fishing industry, an "Urban Fishing Initiative" that includes the rehabilitation of New Orleans' City Park lagoon system, production of bio-products from commercial fish and shrimp waste, and the Louisiana Marine Fisheries Museum in Lafitte. He also serves as the parish director for Jefferson Parish LSU AgCenter.

The other honorees of the ninth annual Coastal Stewardship Awards were Senator Reggie P. Dupre, Cathy Norman and the ShrevCORPS group.

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