It’s national oyster day and the Bayou State is very familiar with the well-loved seafood, but the local industry has been in serious recovery mode thanks to the last two hurricane seasons. Oyster Task Force Chairman Mitch Jurisich said they are starting to see oyster spawns.
“But overall, we seem to be on the rebound again, but we’re talking about oysters that just spawned that’s oysters that won’t be ready for harvest for the next couple of years, so we’ve got a lot to endure between now and market time,” said Jurisich.
He said Ida wiped out the Houma area, and in Plaquemines Parish, they lost about 30 percent of their crop, and other areas lost as much as 80 percent.
In addition to hurricanes, freshwater released from the Bonnet Carre spillway also damaged oyster beds. But Jurisich, a third-generation oyster farmer said Louisiana still holds a claim to fame with oysters.
“But we’re still proud to say we’re still producing oysters in the state. We’re still holding, pretty much holding the title of being the number one producer in the world. But we’re hanging on by a thread,” said Jurisich.
Even though the industry is in recovery mode, Jurisich said they are hopeful they will continue to rebound and that the current and future hurricane seasons are kind. He said as long as there are oysters to be harvested, farmers will continue to take pride in their work.
“And we really take pride when we hear people talk about delicious Louisiana oysters. We strive to continue to be the best, you know the biggest and the best,” said Jurisich.
So in honor of National Oyster Day be sure to consume some Louisiana oysters today.
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