The succulent salty flavor of fresh Louisiana oysters. For my money there is not a better treat on the planet. Unless the oysters have been char-grilled in secret garlic butter sauce. Then I could be persuaded to maybe change my mind. There is a problem with my flavorful fantasy. The problem is that production of Louisiana oysters is down considerably over the past few years.

Environmentalist are quick to point fingers at the BP Oil Spill of a few years ago. There is probably some validity to at least a part of that argument. One seafood industry specialist, John Tesvich says the spill could be a contributing factor most certainly but there may be  other changes in the environment that have caused the supply to drop off.

"We don't know exactly what's going on, why the oysters haven't come back,"

Tesvich, the chairman of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force says fresh water intrusion and recent tropical systems moving over the oyster reefs could have as much to do with the decline as the oil spill.

"That has to be done on a microbiologist and scientist level to prove or disapprove that."
Tesvich's comments were reported by the Louisiana Radio Network.
How serious is the decline in production from Louisiana's oyster beds? Prior to the BP Spill the same areas were producing three to seven million pounds of oyster meat per year. This past year those areas produced just under 1 million pounds of oyster meat. This could lead to challenging times for Louisiana's oyster producers and higher prices for those of us that enjoy oysters on our plates.

 

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