Interviewer(s): T. McGuire. Ocean Springs, MS

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Dr. Ed Cake was one of Ron Dugas' referrals. We had communicated through email on an earlier trip; Ed remembered me well, and was anxious to give me some time. We agreed to meet in Ocean Springs on a Saturday, and held the interview in a Chinese restaurant over in Pascagoula. Driving over (I had left my car at the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor's Center in Ocean Springs), I raised the question of why, as I was hearing, fewer and fewer oystermen are bedding oysters. His initial answer (untaped) was that Louisiana oystermen may have pretty well ruined the seed grounds by not returning cultch. I countered with the issue of labor costs, and he told me a story of one of his clients. Through some familial ties, the client had connections in Honduras, and would go there several times a year to recruit workers. I had already heard from Marty Bourgeous of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries that most of the oyster workers in Terrebonne Parish were "Hispanic."

E. W. "Ed" Cake, Jr., Ph.D., operates "Gulf Environmental Associates: Biological, Environmental, Legal, & Mariculture Services ([email protected]) out of Ocean Springs, MS. He is one of a handful of biologists certified by the State of Louisiana to conduct oyster damage assessments, and prides himself on working both sides, oil companies and oystermen. He was the plaintiffs' main expert witness in the Alonzo case in St. Bernard Parish, and his formula for reef restoration costs was accepted by Judge Manny Fernandez in establishing the damages caused by the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Project.