The Texas oyster industry is struggling as the state’s reefs close for harvesting
At Johny Jurisich’s family dock in Texas City, more than a dozen empty oyster boats with names like Sunshine and Captain Fox lazily float in the marina on a recent Monday morning, an odd sight for what is normally peak oyster harvesting season. Currently, 21 of the state’s 27 harvesting areas are closed, with three more areas set to close Tuesday. Alex Gutierrez, who owns a few oyster boats and has worked as an oyster fisherman for 35 years, said he usually hires between 10-15 people to work with him each season. But recently he’s been dipping into his savings and doesn’t think he’ll be able to afford the annual maintenance on his boats. >click to read< 08:31
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