Governor’s Oyster Council Holds First Meeting at Seafood Museum

Tuesday, the first meeting of the Governor’s Oyster Restoration and Resiliency Council took place at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi. In 2004, there were over 400,000 sacks of oysters harvested in Mississippi waters. This year, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (M.D.M.R.) predicts only 20,000 sacks will be produced.

The water off the coast of Mississippi was once the hub for oyster production, but that has all changed. Nearly 100 volunteers consisting of citizens, scientists, and seafood industry leaders make up the oyster council. The goal is to revive Mississippi’s oyster population, an industry that’s just 5% of what it was ten years ago. The council will be broken up into three smaller committees.

The council believes these subcommittees are key to targeting specific areas before addressing the oyster problem as a whole. Allan Sudduth, Oysters in the Environment Committee Chair, says, "See what’s aligned; see what you have in common to really magnify and leverage those different practices into one solid, effective plan."

Sudduth oversees the Environment Committee, which looks at how to improve and restore oyster resources to enhance water quality in growing and harvesting areas. Sudduth also says, "They act as a filtration system so as the water goes through them, they filter out things and improve our water quality."

Tish Williams chairs the Economy Committee, which focuses on how oyster production can impact the Coast’s economy in a variety of ways. Williams says, "We have the opportunity to help the oyster industry reach its potential and thereby create tremendous economic benefits for our area, creating jobs and new business income."

Clay Wagner heads the Technology Committee, which looks at ways to prolong the harvesting season to enhance commercial production. Wagner says, "We’ve been doing it the same way for decades and decades and there’s some new technologies that can be brought to bear to make the oystermen a little more effective and efficient at how they’re doing their job."

The Oyster Council will work diligently for the next few months before releasing a final report on June 2nd. The goal is to comprise a plan which will get annual oyster harvests up to one million sacks by 2025. Throughout the entire process, the Oyster Council will host a series of public meetings hoping to hear from as many voices as possible in order to create the most effective plan.