Traditional oyster season delayed

PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (WLOX) - Tuesday’s gloomy weather symbolizes how non-productive traditional oyster farms are on the Coast.

Last week, we showed you how off-bottom oyster farming has been successful. However, the traditional on-bottom reefs haven’t been opened. In fact, the DMR isn’t opening those traditional reefs south of Pass Christian and Waveland.

That means it’s pretty quiet on the docks at Fortes Seafood. Aside from selling game fish like redfish, snapper and trout, they say it’s been pretty slow.

“It’s been pretty slow overall. We’ve been getting a few oysters out of Louisiana and Texas waters right now, and it’s really fish,” said Jeremy Forte. “It’s slow right now. I know the state has tried to get the reefs going out here. They’ve spent nearly $30 million to get something going out there. In the Louisiana waters about 12-15 miles from here, they have oysters, but they don’t any right here.”

So it’s quiet now, but Forte and others said they hope the upcoming crab season will be beneficial. They say that usually gets going around the beginning of the year.

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