Over the course of four days, the oystermen met with more than 20 Congressmen or staff, including the staff of Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor
It is a twenty-year tradition at Washington’s Bistro Bis, the restaurant for Capitol Hill’s Hotel George; oystermen from Florida to Texas commandeering the center booth as their local headquarters for their annual meeting with D.C. legislators.
“Our greatest challenge over the next 20-years is dealing with coastal salinity change in each of our important estuaries that we grow oysters,” said Chris Nelson, GOIC’s board member who led the groups effort on the Hill. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
The Gulf Oyster Industry Council (GOIC), which represents oystermen along the coast, joined the Louisiana Oyster Task Force, as well as their East Coast oyster brethren, to discuss issues important for the survival of the industry.
Over the course of four days, the oystermen met with more than 20 Congressmen or staff, as well as with the House Transportation Committee, the Food and Drug Administration, the Senate Labor Appropriations Subcommittee, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s new head of fisheries Eileen Sorbeck.
“Our greatest challenge over the next 20-years is dealing with coastal salinity change in each of our important estuaries that we grow oysters,” said Chris Nelson, GOIC’s board member who led the groups effort on the Hill. “Our problems range from each end of the spectrum; we either have too much water or not enough, both of which create a problem in oyster production.”
The abundance of salt water comes from dredging of ship channels at the mouth of estuaries, allowing too much salt water to flood into environmentally sensitive oyster growing areas. Likewise, the impounding of fresh water upstream for human consumption has reduced fresh river flow needed in those same actuaries.
Important Issues
The oysterman came to D.C. with a list of six important issues for their Congressmen:
The Gulf’s oyster community is still dealing with supply shortages that may be related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
1. Supply Shortage
The Gulf’s oyster community is still dealing with supply shortages that may be related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Congress must remain engaged in the process for obligating necessary funds for restoring these historic, natural oyster reefs to their former productivity.
2. Protecting and Preserving Oyster Reefs
Massive dredging, infrastructure and ecosystem restoration projects in our estuaries and waterways can lead to drastic losses for the reefs, the ecosystem and the fishermen. As new infrastructure projects move forward, Congress must identify ways to mitigate damages to public and private oyster grounds.
3. Fisheries Disaster Assistance
The Omnibus Appropriations Act approved $75 million in federal fisheries disaster assistance. Congress must weigh in with the Secretary of Commerce and NOAA to ensure a portion of these funds are expedited to remediate the oyster population in Apalachicola Bay, other Florida west coast bays, and Mississippi.
“The legislators seem to understand the mitigation of concerns we have about a number of proposed projects,” said Al Sunseri. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
4. Preserving the H-2B Visa Program
New Department of Labor rules governing this program threaten the viability of the Gulf oyster community continuing to rely on temporary, foreign H-2B visa workers to fill jobs in the most labor-intensive positions in our industry – jobs that American workers refuse to do. Congress must continue to delay the new H-2B visa wage rule and ensure that DOL will continue accepting private wage surveys moving forward.
5. NOAA’s National Shellfish Initiative
Congress should commend NOAA for working with the Gulf States shellfish community and their regulators to develop and implement a Gulf-wide shellfish restoration effort that benefits the environment, the economy and coastal communities.
6. Gulf Seafood Marketing Coalition
The Gulf seafood community is working together across all five Gulf States to provide consumers with up-to-date facts about the safety and wholesomeness of Gulf seafood. This work is essential to restoring consumer confidence in the quality of seafood from the Gulf.
One of the biggest issues for the Louisiana Oyster Task Force is also water standards and salinity in the actuaries.
“Salinity is a problem in Louisiana, as well as every Gulf State,” said Louisiana Oyster Task Force president John Tesvich, owner of Ameripure Oyster. “We need to educate legislators that proposed projects will have a major impact on Gulf oyster production. We are here to enlist our Congressmen’s support in requiring the Corp of Engineers to investigate affects on shellfish production as part current and future projects.”
For Tracy Woody (right), a Texas oysterman who owns Galveston Bay’s Jeri’s Seafood, the H2B visa program is one of his largest concerns. Woody and Chris Nelson (right) listen to concerns of other oystermen. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
According the Louisiana oysterman of Croatian origin, “We’ve had great meetings on the Hill. We now have a plan moving forward to keep our Congressmen on pointe on key issues effecting our industry.”
Tesvich sees little progress in the future on H2B visas for workers in the seafood community. “With immigration being a hot topic during the upcoming elections, I don’t foresee this being resolved to our satisfaction as quickly as we would like.”
For Tracy Woody, a Texas oysterman who owns Galveston Bay’s Jeri’s Seafood, the H2B visa program is one of his largest concerns.
Bringing in between 60 to 100 immigrants yearly for his family owned business, he said the program needs to be streamlined and easier to operate under. It also needs to become more flexible, and not tied to previous years needs. “We don’t always have a good year, and in those bad years we have to have the ability to bring in fewer workers without being penalized when future increases are needed. The government has to learn to ‘go with the flow’”, he explained
Woody also remains concerns about further widening and deepening of the Houston Ship Channel, which would deeply impact oyster growth in Galveston Bay. “We need to make legislators aware of how channel expansion affects our business.”
Coastal Restoration Could Harm Industry
Jakov Jurisic, a member of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force. listens while Michael Sharp of the Foundation National Fish and Wildlife explains coastal restoration plans for Louisiana. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
“For the Louisiana Oyster Task Force it was important to have our views heard on the issue of coastal restoration and sediment diversion on the east bank of the Mississippi River,” said Jakov Jurisic, a member of the Oyster Task Force. “If this project comes online it will be destructive to the oyster industry in Plaquemines, St. Bernard and Jefferson Parishes. After talking to our Louisiana legislators I am encouraged. Our meeting with Senators Landrieu and Vitter was very constructive; I feel they are on our side.”
“Everyone we have met with has been very receptive to our messages,” said GOIC’s Al Sunseri, owner of New Orleans’s P & J Oyster. According to him, “the messaging receiving the most traction is the industry’s concerns over spending of Deepwater Horizon spill litigation funds, especially those earmarked for Louisiana.”
“The legislators seem to understand the mitigation of concerns we have about a number of proposed projects that can disturb the oyster beds, especially with Louisiana’s proposed plans for sediment diversion projects,” he said.
According to Auburn University shellfish expert Bill Walton (left), current proposed restoration projects could damage oyster beds. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
Louisiana is lacking river sediment south of Baton Rouge to needed to build land in the marshes. The sediment is caught up at the Missouri River and Mississippi River crossing, as well as north of the old river structure in Louisiana.
According to Auburn University shellfish expert Bill Walton, current proposed restoration projects could not only damage oyster beds, but could also devastate not only the oyster industry, but also other Gulf seafood species.
“It would be ironic if the funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill earmarked to help restore the Gulf Coast, actually were used in such a way that ended up devastating the oyster industry, as well as other seafood fisheries,” he explained. “This could be a sad ending to a very sad story.”
Meeting and Eating
The oystermen attended a Molluscan Shellfish Institute Meeting where issues from marketing to growing methods were discussed. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
In addition to the Hill activities, the oystermen attended a Molluscan Shellfish Institute Meeting where issues from marketing to growing methods were discussed.
The last year has been tough for Gulf oysters. The industry has started an “adapt on the run” attitude in order to survive. People want to know what they are eating, and where it comes from, and oystermen from Florida to Texas are committed to that giving their consumers what they want.
“I am going revisit the 1970’s, and go back to a branded oyster – Shell Beach Box Choice,” said Brad Robins of Robins Oyster, after the meeting. “I am going to make an effort to become unique, and concentrate on select oysters. There is going to be a time in the near future that Gulf oysters will once again become abundant, and we will need to have a product that can sell itself in order to compete. It is kind of like going back to the future. That is were we were before, and now we have to return to that marketing to move forward in the future.”
Louisiana oystermen of Croatian decent, John Tesvich (l) and Jakov Jurisic (r), with Croatia’s Embassy staff at the “Let the World be Your Oyster” reception. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
After walking from one side of the hill to the other and then back again, and then again, the mollusk men entertained influential Washingtonians involved in decisions affecting the Gulf with a “Let the World be Your Oyster” reception at the Acadiana Restaurant.
More than 600 D.C. Gulf power brokers were treated to a wide variety of oyster dishes, not only from the Gulf, but also from the Chesapeake Bay. Restaurants from Louisiana serving at the event included; Drago’s, Acme Oyster Bar, Restaurant Cotton, Ruffino’s and Randol’s.
This year more than 40 mini-sacks of raw oysters and 33 gallons of shucked were shipped to be enjoyed by D.C. politicos.
Louisiana oyster legend Wilbur Collins has been coming to the annual event for twenty years. “This weeklong event means a lot for the gulf, as well as its fisherman,” he said. “This shows Washington that we stick together. We have some big issues facing our industry, and we need their cooperation in getting them solved.”
Closing the week with a champaign toast at the Bistro Bis office booth are: (l-r) Jim Gossen, Wilber Collins, Bobby Savoie, waiter Norman Palanco, Brad Robbins and Brandt Lafrance. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
One of the biggest issues for Collin’s is the need for research sterile wild reefs.
“Spats aren’t taking on the wild reefs,” he explained. “The spats (oyster seedlings) are not reproducing on the wild reefs, and currently there is no information available on why they are failing to grow. We desperately need immediate scientific research into why this is happening.”
According to Nelson, it is important to have consistency. “In doing this year after year you begin to build a core group of staff and members of Congress that understand your issues, and can help you turn on a dime if the need arises. You don’t have to continuously bring them up to speed on what your industry is about.”
“It has been a great week, but also a lot of fun at the end of the day,” said Sunseri after a traditional champagne toast to close the booth-office at Bistro Bis. “The week has had far more successes than pitfalls. I think the only pitfall is overscheduling; by the end of the week we were all running on fumes.”
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