Subsistence in Coastal Louisiana: An Exploratory Study

Branch: Executive

Category: Executive Agency Publications

SuDoc Class Number: I 72.

Government Author: Interior Department, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Personal Author: Regis H; Walton S

Series Title: BOEM Environmental Studies

Publication Title: Subsistence in Coastal Louisiana: An Exploratory Study

Date Issued: 2022

Subject: Socio-economic and Infrastructure
Land Use
subsistence; hunting; harvesting; fishing; self-provisioning; Louisiana; Gulf Coast; social sciences

Obligation Number: M11AC00004

Geographic Scope: Gulf of Mexico

Report Number: BOEM 2022-063

CSE Reference: Regis H, Walton S (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA; Nichols State University, Thibodaux, LA). 2019. Subsistence in coastal Louisiana, volumes 1-4: an exploratory study. New Orleans (LA): US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 3 p. Contract No.: M11AC0004. Report No.: OCS Study BOEM 2020-063

Abstract: This is a study of subsistence in Coastal Louisiana, focusing on Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. The study explores the range of subsistence activities (including production, exchange sharing, barter and small-scale informal sales); identifies key dynamics in the overlapping activities of commercial and household consumption; tests the applicability of multiple field research methods to the study of subsistence; and produces preliminary data about subsistence harvesting, exchange and consumption. The study finds that subsistence in Coastal Louisiana is ordinary, pervasive, and central to personal, cultural, and regional identity. People may not recognize the term "subsistence" as describing what they do. Instead, they refer to hunting and harvesting practices. In the region, these practices are connected to family and community in complex ways and are often supported by commercial activities and wage labor. Individual participation varies across their lifecycle. Subsistence foods are highly valued and fuel family and community celebrations. Participants worry that rapid environmental change threatens subsistence practices and loss of access to hunting and harvesting can disproportionately impact environmental justice communities. Volume 1 of this study discusses these findings. Volume 2 offers more detail about particular subsistence practices or practitioners with a selection of field reports from researchers. Volume 3 presents photo essays to illustrate subsistence activities. Volume 4 includes a selected, annotated bibliography on subsistence.