Oyster harvests at historic low Published: Friday, November 23,
2012 at 11:13 a.m. Last Modified: Friday, November 23, 2012 at
11:13 a.m. Commercial oyster harvests in important fishing
grounds east of the Mississippi River have reached historic
lows, state wildlife officials said. Those grounds typically
provide almost 50 percent of the state’s oyster harvest. But
crops were wiped out after the BP oil spill in 2010, and
unsuccessful reproductive cycles since then have failed to
replenished stocks, worrying state wildlife officials and the
oyster industry. The oyster industry is producing about 35
percent of the oysters it would during a normal year, officials
said. “These are the most productive public grounds in
Louisiana. I’d say they’re some of the most productive oyster
grounds in the world,” said Mike Voisin, owner of Motivatit
Seafood oyster company in Houma and a member of the state’s
Wildlife and Fisheries Commission. “It’s a cause for concern,
and we have to look closely and figure out why this is h