Oystermen Are Original Environmentalists Use to Navigating Crisis After Crisis

Louisiana Oyster Task Force chair Mitch Jurisich on his docks in Empire. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography

by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editorial Director

Hurricanes, droughts, flooding and oil spills, the Louisiana Oyster Task Force had thought they had seen it all.  The norvell coronavirus that is sweeping through the state, the nation and the world is just one more obstacle to overcome and according to Task Force chairman Mitch Jurisich there is little doubt they will.

An oyster boat refueling at Jurisich’s dock.  Empire is home to a large oyster fishing community. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography

“For those suffering from the virus, we wish a speedy recovery,” said Jurisich, an oysterman from Empire.  “For those who have lost loved ones, we offer our deepest sympathy.  For those facing financially uncertainty, we understanding your pain because we are all in this together.  Oystermen are the eternal optimists.  We all have been through rough times, but when we put aside our differences and come together as community good things can happen.”

The quick spreading virus has brought the oyster and seafood industry to almost a complete stop. Restaurant closing has upended the supply chain for oysters, as well as all seafood. With cancelled orders from wholesalers and processors, oystermen and other fishermen are selling their catch at local farmer markets or through online orders. These sales are amounting to a fraction needed to maintain a thriving industry.

Time to Tell Our Story

“This is a trying time for the Gulf seafood industry, that is why the Louisiana Oyster Task Force feels it is important to start to tell our story,” said Jurisich. “The main focus of our new campaign is to bring awareness to the public that we doing a good job. We want to tell the story that we are original environmentalists and what we do is good for both the estuaries and water quality.”

Besides being an oysterman, Jurisich operates a bait shop on his docks. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography

Oysters in Louisiana have traditionally been harvested on both public oyster grounds and by State licensed private leaseholders paying for the right to invest their time and money to grow oysters. The Louisiana Oyster Task Force is comprised of these private leaseholders, members of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the office of Governor John Bel Edwards.

“My daddy was the first to get an oyster lease in the newly subsided wetlands,” the Task Force chair told Gulf Seafood News. “As land started to disappear in the early 70’s he noticed that it actually wasn’t eroding, it was subsiding covering existing oyster reefs in mud and silt.  What he also noticed was natural oyster reefs being formed in areas that never had them before.”

“When he got the first lease in the subsided area, everybody though he was crazy. He even had to build a special boat with a shallow draft to get into the area they were growing. When he started coming in with boatloads of the prettiest oysters, whose shells were lime green in color. It was then they realized he was onto something.”

Historically the most productive oysters were grown on the public grounds lying east of the Mississippi. Oysters didn’t grow in most areas west of the Mississippi naturally, but oystermen found that transferring seed oysters from the public grounds on the east side of the river to the west allowed them to grow at a much faster pace.

The natural coastal land loss has in a way benefited the industry. Traditionally some of the world’s best oyster grounds were the narrow bays and bayous where oyster grew 15-20 feet under the surface. As the land subsided a scattering of natural oysters were discovered growing throughout this area.

“The problem with the new area was it was not as productive,” said the Empire oysterman, “But the greater amount of bottom land allowed for enhancement to balance out the difference. As oystermen we’ve learned to adapt to the ever changing environment that happens naturally.”

Cultch being loaded on an oyster boat to enhance the bottom to build an oyster reef. To enhance the water bottom, oystermen spend millions of dollars a year out of their own pocket to plant cultch. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography

To enhance the water bottom, oystermen spend millions of dollars a year out of their own pocket to plant cultch.  Cultch is basically comprised of small rocks or broken oyster shells that allow for seed oysters to attach and mature.  This planted cultch raises the water bottom and forms a natural reef that not only grows oyster, but also is habitat to a variety of seafood.

“Our job is to grow, raise and harvest oysters.  Doing our job every day is a bonus for all the estuaries and a variety of sea life,” explained Jurisich. “We look at the affordance of any oyster reef in the inside waters equal to the affordance of coral reefs offshore.  We are a very viable part of the final product because we are actually building these reefs.”

He says, “as oystermen we don’t go out and look for glamour and glory for what we practice everyday.” He is distributed at the publicity many NGO’s receive for their limited efforts to restore the coastline. “They go out and build a reef and it is all over the news. They promote it as the greatest thing since ‘sliced bread.’ What would be more effective is a partnership where we all work together, not for publicity, but to restore our heritage.”

Educating the Public

The Oyster Task Force has taken on the project of educating the public “they are the good guys in the fight for the environment.”

Mitch Jurisich (center) and members of the Oyster Task Force educate attendees on the benefits of oysters at the recent Louisiana Fisheries Forward Summit. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography

Over the years oystermen have gotten a black eye.  Fresh water kills oysters. A number of fresh water diversion lawsuits have tarnished their reputation because they were often misinterpreted in the media.

“We have, and will continue, to fight the misuse of freshwater diversion as a tool to rebuild coastline,” said the Task Force chair.  “It simply doesn’t work, and it damages estuaries vital to a host of fisheries, including oysters.  We are not trying to stand in the way of coastal restoration, instead we want to look for solutions that allow oyster, shrimp, crab and other seafood so important to this State to survive and flourish.”

Jurisich points to the Bonnet Carre Spillway as an example of how damaging a large amount of fresh water entering the fragile estuaries is to all fisheries.

An fully ladened oyster boat heading toward the Empire dock while a shrimp boat heads out into the Gulf. Photo: Ed Lallo/Lallo Photography

“Because of flooding in the Upper Mississippi Valleys, last year the Corp of Engineers opened the spillway for more than 200 days. This allowed fresh water to completely destroy oysters in both Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as damage other seafood,” he said. “Because the same thing is happening this year, the spillway again opened more than 100 gates on April 3^rd. We were already seeing numerous deaths in our oyster beds because of breaches in a number of passes along the channel, but this will complicate matters even worse.”

Jurisich feels that oystermen are the protectors of the wetlands, the bays and the bayous.

“Every time we harvest an oyster, be mindful that we are also putting back,” he said.  We take the market size oysters, break them apart and clean them up.  We throw the cultch, shells and baby oysters back on the reef to use for future cultivation. We need to portray the importance of every little aspect of what we do.”

According to the chairman, the Louisiana Oyster Task force is willing to work together with any and all agencies to move coastal restoration projects forward in areas not affecting the most productive oyster grounds.  ‘This way we can all benefit,” he said. “That is our story.  Everybody needs it to work together to sustain our industry for generations to come.”

Tags: Bonnet Carre Spillway, coastal restoration, environment, Featured, Governor John Bel Edwards, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana Oyster Task Force, Mitch Jurisich, oystermen, oysters