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• Oyster Workshops Set in Houma, Belle Chasse

  June 23, 2012 9:13 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Two workshops on rules for harvesting, selling and processing oysters are planned June 26-27 in southeast Louisiana. The free sessions are sponsored by the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the state Department of Health and Hospitals. Topics include harvesting tags and requirements, refrigeration... more »

• State Oyster Task Force meets

  June 5, 2012 6:33 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The effects of the just-ended legislative session, the aftermath of the BP oil spill and the fight against coastal erosion - all are on the agenda for the latest meeting of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force. The committee includes representatives from among commercial fishermen and oyster... more »

• Gulf oyster industry eyes electronic tracking

  December 23, 2011 12:49 PM

  The oyster industry in the Gulf of Mexico is developing an electronic system needed to track oysters for new food safety regulations. The Courier reports (http://bit.ly/t2BwIl ) that Gulf states are developing the system, required under measures passed by Congress last year to make it easier to track food-borne illness... more »

• Oyster Season Closing in 2 Terrebonne Locations

  December 13, 2011 7:00 AM

  State fisheries officials are closing the oyster season in Sister Lake and Bay Junop in Terrebonne Parish. The closures are effective 30 minutes after sunset on Thursday. State biologists say the action is being taken to protect young developing oysters from additional harvesting. more »

• Rising Big River Poses Threat to La. Oyster Trade

  May 6, 2011 6:55 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Just a year after the BP oil spill crippled Louisiana's oyster industry, the fishermen face a new problem. Freshwater is set to be diverted from the mighty Mississippi River into the salty waters where the shellfish grow, potentially killing them. To protect people, homes and businesses... more »

• Oyster leaders Meeting to Discuss BP Spill

  April 15, 2011 6:07 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Nearly a year after the BP oil spill, leaders of the oyster industry are getting together in New Orleans to discuss the continuing effects. Oyster industry representatives will be joined by Randy Pausina, the assistant secretary of the state wildlife department, and Garrett Graves, chairman of... more »

• State of Gulf Seafood After Spill: Inside the Oyster Industry

  March 1, 2011 12:06 AM

  KATC continues its series on the state of gulf seafood by taking an in depth look into one of Louisiana's biggest seafood products, the oyster industry. Workers for Motivatit Oysters endlessly dredge year round all along the coast of Louisiana. But during and after the BP oil spill, their livelihood... more »

• BP spill not only problem for oyster industry

  November 17, 2010 7:25 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - State officials have gotten a fresh reminder hat many Louisiana oyster growers had problems even before the BP oil spill. A governor's advisory board on the state oyster industry met in New Orleans Tuesday and heard concerns from oyster growers and processors about productive grounds that... more »

• 2 Oyster Beds Re-Opening

  October 20, 2010 11:02 AM

  Two of the first oyster beds closed after the crude disaster are ready to re-open. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals says oyster harvesting areas in Paquemines, Jefferson and Lafourche parishes are now open for fishing. more »

• LA Oyster Harvesters and Dealers Want to Cancel the 2010-2011 Season

  October 19, 2010 6:55 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A task force of Louisiana oyster harvesters and dealers wants the state to cancel the 2010-2011 season scheduled in public oyster waters east of the Mississippi River. The proposed cancellation would not affect private year-round oyster leases on either side of the river. The... more »

• DHH Opens Another Oyster Harvesting Area

  October 14, 2010 5:45 PM

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today the reopening of oyster harvesting Area 19 after working with officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other state and federal partners. Area 19, which is located west of the Mississippi River in Terrebonne Parish, was partially closed... more »

• Reopening of Oyster Harvesting Areas 2, 3, 14, 15 and 17

  September 24, 2010 6:10 PM

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today the reopening of oyster harvesting areas 2, 3, 14, 15 and 17 after working with officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and other state and federal partners. Harvest areas 2 and 3, which were originally closed July 5th, are... more »

• Environmental Groups Question Oyster Safety

  September 2, 2010 6:17 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Sampling by environmental groups has found oysters contaminated with oil along the Louisiana coast befouled by the BP PLC oil spill, a finding that casts doubt on statements by state and federal officials that all seafood tested here is safe to eat. Batches of oysters were... more »

• LA DHH Announces Reopening of Oyster Harvesting Area 5

  August 16, 2010 5:56 PM

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today the reopening of oyster harvesting Area 5 after working with a specialist with the federal Food and Drug Administration and determining there was no oil intrusion. This harvest area, which was originally closed July 5, 2010, is east of the... more »

• Three oyster harvesting areas east of the Mississippi River are now reopen

  July 30, 2010 9:21 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals reopens three oyster harvesting areas east of the Mississippi River, including Lake Borgne (born) in Orleans Parish. Secretary Alan Levine says areas will open a half-hour before sunrise Saturday. He says a specialist with the federal Food and... more »

• Oyster Fishermen Paid by BP ?

  July 28, 2010 4:05 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Oyster fishermen don't know if they'll be paid by BP for the shellfish deaths caused by opening the state's freshwater diversion structures in a bid to flush out oil encroaching on the oyster beds because of the Gulf spill. The decision to open the release... more »

• For Oyster Clan, Just Another Disaster In A Series

  July 26, 2010 8:42 AM

  HOUMA, La. (AP) - As survival stories go, the Voisins have a gem: It goes back more than 200 years ago when the first members of their family to set foot on Louisiana soil weathered a monster storm in spectacular fashion, clinging to their porch while others were washed away.... more »

• Widespread Oyster Deaths Found on La. Reef

  July 16, 2010 9:37 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Surveys of coastal oyster grounds have discovered extensive deaths of the shellfish, further threatening an industry already in free-fall because of BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The deaths are blamed on the opening of release valves on the Mississippi River in an attempt... more »

• Reopening of Oyster Harvesting Area 7

  July 7, 2010 5:53 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today that it is reopening oyster harvesting Area 7 to give harvesters as much time as possible to harvest their product before any potential impact from the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Area 7, which is east of... more »

• Oil Spill: Oyster Shuckers Fear for Livelihood

  June 10, 2010 9:28 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The pre-dawn shucking of small mountains of oysters that is an age-old workaday ritual in New Orleans is coming to an end at the 134-year-old P&J Oyster Co., because of the oil spilling ominously offshore. Barring an unforeseen reopening of the oyster beds that supply P&J,... more »

• Oyster Task Force Worried about Dispersants

  May 26, 2010 7:18 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Leaders of Louisiana's oyster industry are expressing worries about the use of a chemical dispersant deep underwater at the site of the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The Louisiana Oyster Task Force on Tuesday voted to draft a letter to the oil giant... more »

• State Reopens Iberia Parish Oyster Harvesting Area

  May 25, 2010 8:57 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The state health department has ordered the reopening of an oyster harvesting area in Iberia Parish that was closed as a precaution after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Alan Levine, secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals, says Area 28,... more »

• Partially Reopened Oyster Harvesting Area 17

  May 20, 2010 6:31 PM

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today that it has partially reopened oyster harvesting Area 17 to give harvesters as much time as possible to harvest their product before any potential impact from the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Area 17, which is west of the... more »

• DHH Reopens Additional Oyster Harvesting Areas

  May 20, 2010 9:23 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today that it has partially reopened oyster harvesting areas 14 and 15, and all of areas 2, 3 and 4 to give harvesters as much time as possible to harvest their product before any potential impact from the BP... more »

• Oyster Harvesting Areas 19 and 21 Reopened

  May 17, 2010 4:03 PM

  The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today that it has reopened oyster harvesting areas 19 and 21 to give harvesters as much time as possible to harvest their product before any potential impact from the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Areas 19 and 21, which are west... more »

• Two Oyster Areas Reopen in Gulf

  May 14, 2010 9:54 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Two Louisiana oyster harvesting areas have been re-opened to give harvesters a chance to gather as many oysters as possible before any potential effects are felt from the huge Gulf of Mexico oil leak. Both areas are west of the Mississippi River. One in Plaquemines... more »

• DHH Closes 2 More Oyster Harvesting Areas

  May 12, 2010 9:09 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - More oyster harvesting areas are closing in Louisiana. State health officials say they've closed oyster beds in areas 8 and 9 as a precautionary response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The closures, effective at sundown Tuesday, are west of the Mississippi River in... more »

• Additional Oyster Bed Closures Due to Oil Spill

  May 10, 2010 2:39 PM

  In Precautionary Move, DHH Announces Additional Oyster Bed Closures Due to Oil Spill State Aggressively Testing Seafood Safety; State Health Officer Reinforces Seafood on the Market Still Safe BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today the closure of oyster harvesting beds west of the... more »

• Closing Select Fishing Areas and Oyster Harvesting Beds

  April 30, 2010 6:07 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana departments of Health and Hospitals, and Wildlife and Fisheries announced today they will be closing select fishing areas and oyster harvesting beds as a precautionary response to the oil spill in the Gulf. Fishing Closures LDWF Secretary Robert Barham announced the closure of... more »

• Oyster Harvester Can Smell Oil Coming

  April 29, 2010 4:47 PM

  EMPIRE, La. (AP) - A man whose family has been harvesting oysters on the Louisiana coast for three generations says he can smell the oil coming. Mitch Jurisich spent part of today hauling in oysters -- stopping to eat some -- because it might be the last chance to do... more »

• Seafood Indusry Worries as Oils Nears Coast

  April 27, 2010 7:28 PM

  More than four million gallons of crude oil could spill into the Gulf of Mexico, before crews can get a relief well drilled at the site of a sunken oil rig. The leak continues to spew out 42-thousand gallons per day. As the spill worsens, many fear the Louisiana... more »

• Oyster Illness Outbreak

  March 31, 2010 11:52 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - For the third time in a week, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has closed an oyster harvesting area because of an outbreak of illness. This time, it's "Area 13," west of the Mississippi River in southern Jefferson and Lafourche parishes. Last Wednesday, the... more »