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Oystermen begin feeling the effects of COVID-19

Posted at 7:31 AM, May 21, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-21 08:32:13-04

As many restaurants begin operating on a limited basis, suppliers are beginning to feel the effects of COVID-19 on sales and production.

And across the southern region, where seafood is one of the main staples, oystermen are no different.

LSU's Grand Isle Oyster Research Lab Director tells The Daily Advertiser that, "The oystermen are saying either their sales have completely stopped or they might be selling 1% of what they normally do."

This is due in part to the fact that people eat raw oysters at home or want a dozen to go in a styrofoam box, utimately reducing oyster sales.

Some farmers are either selling their oysters to processors to be shucked and sold for cooking, or selling oysters directly to consumers to help mitigate the reduction in sales.

A similar circumstance plagued oysterman last year after the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway which released freshwater into the Mississippi Sound where oysters needed brackish water to survive.

This lead to a shortage of oysters in 2019.
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