Tag Archives: oyster lease rate

Auditor says Louisiana is charging too little for oysters

The state could generate $1.29 million in additional revenue by increasing the oyster lease rate from $2 an acre to the $5.20 per acre average of five other states that harvest Eastern oysters. In 1980, the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, which manages the state’s water bottoms, put the lease rate at $2 per acre. Auditors also found that 36 people — using different corporations and partnerships — were able to circumvent state limitations of 2,500 acres leased to control more than half of the available water bottoms. Read the rest here 10:16: