Tag Archives: Louisiana oystermen
Massive, unexplained bivalve die-off sends many Louisiana oystermen back to square one
Mitch Jurisich, a third-generation oysterman, dropped a long pair of oyster tongs into the Gulf of Mexico and lightly raked the water bottom. When he brought up his catch, all but one were dead. The more resilient hooked mussels, typically found clustered along the area’s oyster reefs, had suffered the same fate. The stench of rotting bivalves filled the air. “That’s the smell of death,” Jurisich said. Early this month, millions of pounds of oysters in leases that line Plaquemines Parish’s west bank were found dead, their mouths agape. It’s unclear why. >click to read< 10:15
Louisiana Oystermen claim the state-mandated vessel monitoring systems installed on their boats are illegal and should be removed.
The oystermen say they are unable to disengage or power down the monitoring systems even when their vessels are not commercially taking oysters from Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries-managed and regulated public natural reefs or LDWF-designated oyster seed grounds. continued@theadvocate
Louisiana Seafood News: The Aristocratic Louisiana Oyster
A little over two years ago Jim Gossen gave a talk to a group of Louisiana oystermen gathered on Grand Isle. He had filled boxes with the prettiest oysters from both the east and west coast. Beausoleil oysters in one little box, and Island Creeks in another. Putting them on a table he told the group, “these oysters are three times better than yours, they must be because they are getting more than three times the price.” continued
