State of the Oyster Industry
Mississippi has decided to lease 80 percent of the oyster reefs in the sound to private companies and that’s not popular with local fisherman. Ryan Bradley with Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United…
oysters
Oystermen Voice Concerns Over Private Leasing of Oyster Reefs
The state of Mississippi is allowing the lease of 80% of its previously public oyster reefs. Oystermen in South Mississippi are opposing this and have started a petition against the move. State…
Mississippi oyster season begins November 13
BILOXI, Miss. – The 2024 Mississippi Oyster Season shall open for the harvest of oysters, beginning at legal sunrise, on November 13, 2024. The approved and conditionally approved areas are: Area I "B" This area includes St. Joe reefs Area II…
Tracking the impact of the Bonnet-Carre Spillway on Mississippi's seafood
What is the Bonnet Carre Spillway? The Mississippi Sound Coalition is in a legal battle with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the opening of the Bonnet-Carre Spillway…
Mississippi moves forward with private leasing for oyster harvesting
You might have Mississippi oysters back on your plate next year. Mississippi was once the oyster harvesting capital, but multiple disasters have depleted the supply. There's been…
Mississippi Oyster Shell Recycling program aims to collect from restaurants in spring
The Nature Conservancy of Mississippi spoke with the Harrison County Board of Supervisors about the plan to start an oyster shell recycling program on…
Students at St. Stanislaus are taking class outside and to the water with oyster farming, an elective offered at the high school.
Students at St. Stanislaus are taking class outside and to the water with oyster farming, an elective offered at the high school. The hope is they walk away with valuable knowledge…
Volunteers begin raising oysters along coastlines
Volunteers along multiple U.S. coasts, including Mississippi, are raising oysters to help restore reefs. Oyster reefs are critical for coastal ecosystems, like ours here on the Coast. Each oyster filters…
Mississippi deluges: Low salinity kills baby oysters
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (AP) — Deluges along Mississippi’s coast have damaged the state’s current generation of oysters two years after fresh water from a Louisiana flood control structure all but wiped out live adults on reefs.…
Unexplained die-off latest blow to Louisiana oyster fishers
NEW ORLEANS - Oyster harvesters and a state agency are trying to find the reason for the death of millions of pounds of oysters in some Louisiana harvesting areas in January. The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reports that harvesters believe…
Coronavirus Aid Relief assistance for fishermen opens Nov. 9
Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act applications for commercial and charter fisheries participants will open 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9 on the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources website at dmr.ms.gov/cares-act-assistance/. Applicants must be a Mississippi resident 18 years…
Area 5 Approved growing waters closed to the harvest of oysters due to harmful algal blooms
BILOXI, Miss. (WXXV) – Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources announced Monday that Area 5 Approved growing waters are closed to the harvest of oysters. The closure is effective immediately due to the presence of harmful algal blooms.…
Bringing more oysters to the Coast
Biloxi was once referred to as the ‘seafood capital of the world.’ Although those days are behind us, city officials and fishermen are now working together to bring back more marine life to the Mississippi Sound. When you think of…
Bringing oysters back to the Gulf Coast
Seafood lovers rejoice! There might soon be more Mississippi oysters to go around thanks to funding from the BP oil spill. Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United Executive Director Ryan Bradley said, “Mississippi’s coast down here in Biloxi and Pass Christian was…
Oyster relay at the Pascagoula Causeway Reef
An MDMR oyster relay kicked off at sunrise this morning in Pascagoula. Fishermen were seen out bright and early working hard to get their supplies together to get out onto the water. MDMR provided the fishermen with sacks for the…
Oyster dredge exchange in Biloxi
A state agency is offering Mississippi oystermen a new dredge to catch oysters after banning another kind that was more destructive to oyster reefs. The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources says it will give a new $1,300 bag dredge to…
Oyster season begins in the western portion of the Mississippi Sound
Get your fresh Gulf oysters today as the season opens in the western portion of the Mississippi Sound. News 25’s Toni Miles was there when the season legally opened at sunrise this morning and shows us why leaders with the…
Program aimed at growing oyster population
Disasters in recent years have left our oyster industry and its workers reeling, but the DMR, Port of Gulfport, Southern Miss, and the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services have all teamed up to help bring a recommendation by the governor’s…
GCRL Donates Oysters to Ocean Springs High School
A partnership between USM’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and Ocean Springs High School allows students to research and understand marine life and preservation along the Coast. Today, the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory donated more than 750,000 juvenile oysters to the…
Two Oyster Areas Reopening Monday, May 9
Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources announced Friday that two areas will reopen to the harvest of oysters at legal sunrise Monday, May 9. These conditionally approved areas are: Area II “E” – This area includes Square Handkerchief…
Interview with Melissa Scallan from DMR
The Department of Marine Resources expects more fishermen to be eligible for phase one of the emergency oyster relief after tonight’s meeting in Biloxi.
MDMR Emergency Oyster Work Program
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources has initiated an emergency program to relocate live oysters in areas that will benefit our fishermen on the Coast
M.D.M.R. to Open Oyster Reefs at Sunrise Friday
Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (M.D.M.R.) announced Monday that a limited oyster season will open at legal sunrise Friday, Nov. 14th, 2014.
Pass Chistian Company Aims to Replenish Oysters in the Gulf
This year may be one of the worst seasons ever for the local oyster industry, so a Pass Christian company is trying a new method to revitalize oyster reefs in the Gulf.