In a bid to save its coast and its oyster industry, Louisiana is renewing an oyster leasing program.
The Louisiana Legislature recently passed two bills that lift a 14-year-old moratorium on new leases for oyster farmers. Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to sign the bills soon, The Associated Press reports.
Lifting the moratorium will help oyster farmers because they will be able to develop new oyster grounds out of the path of diversions of Mississippi River water and sediment. The diversions play a central role in the state’s efforts in rebuilding its vanishing coast, which is disappearing at a rate of about 17 square miles a year.
Ending the moratorium was welcomed by the industry.
“Finally, we got it done,” said Byron Encalade, the president of the Louisiana Oystermen Association. “It’s crucial.”
Louisiana is the nation’s top oyster producer. About 12.7 million pounds of oysters were produced in Louisiana in 2014 and the industry is valued at $317 million, employing about 3,500 people, according to state and federal figures.
Encalade said the moratorium hindered oyster farmers hurt by freshwater diversions from developing new oyster grounds.
John Tesvich, chairman of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force, said new leases are not expected to become available until 2018 as the state drafts rules for the new program.
The moratorium was imposed in 2002 after a state judge ruled in favor of oyster farmers who sued the state, claiming their grounds were destroyed by the Caernarvon freshwater diversion on the Mississippi River.
But that ruling was later overturned by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
