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Home > Current News > 2009

News: 2009

Oyster Season to be Delayed in Portions of the Public Oyster Seed Grounds
Posted: 10/23/09

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Secretary Robert J. Barham issued an emergency delay of the 2009-10 oyster season in a portion of the public oyster seed grounds in St. Bernard Parish, as well as the entire Sister Lake Public Oyster Seed Reservation in Terrebonne Parish. 

The St. Bernard portion of the seed grounds are those public grounds north of latitude 30 degrees 00 minutes 00.0 seconds N and east of longitude 89 degrees 22 minutes 50.0 seconds W.  The oyster season in this area of St. Bernard Parish was scheduled to open on Oct. 28, 2009, but shall remain closed until further notice. 

The Sister Lake Public Oyster Seed Reservation was also scheduled to open on Oct. 28, but shall remain closed until one-half hour after sunrise on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009. The Oct. 30 opening in Sister Lake will remain in effect until one-half hour after sunset on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009. 

The delay was issued to protect a recent spat set detected by LDWF biological sampling in these areas.  Recently-settled oysters, called spat, in the 0-15mm size range made up a large portion of the total spat found in mid-October samples and indicates a recent reproductive event.  These spat represent future oyster stocks and protecting them is in the best interest of the public ground oyster resource, which is at its lowest point state-wide in 20 years. 

Although it was necessary to delay the season in these two areas, other public oyster seed grounds and reservations will open as originally scheduled on Oct. 28.

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