The Gulf of Mexico oyster industry has shown signs of rapid decline in recent years. Some researchers are working to find a solution to the man-made and natural events' decline.
Dr. Reginald Blaylock, interim director of the Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), is helping develop a new oyster hatchery as part of the solution.
One solution is through restoration, where oysters are produced in hatcheries and stocked into the wild to establish reefs and restore natural populations.
Another is through aquaculture, where oysters are grown off-bottom in a managed system for commercial harvest.
“Hatcheries can help mitigate the decline by producing oysters for both restoration and aquaculture, but there is a shortage in the supply of oyster larvae. The new hatchery will help alleviate that shortage,” said Blaylock.
In 2020, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that a federal RESTORE Act grant of $7.62M was made for construction of USM’s oyster hatchery and research center.
The pandemic put a pause on the hatchery's construction. A new design was developed to mitigate rising costs and implementation is set to begin soon.
The new hatchery is expected to be a vital part of improving the state’s oyster population and to meet the needs of the seafood industry.
Economically, the oyster industry has been a huge part of the seafood culture on the Gulf Coast for years, he said. "Oysters are important" because they can filter and maintain water quality.
Blaylock said that aquaculture is a key to moving the seafood industry forward. Wild harvests are good, but they simply can’t meet the rising demand for seafood.
Aquaculture now provides 50% of the seafood products Mississippi consumes, according to Blaylock, and it is the only way to meet future demand for seafood. (Magnolia State Live 06/11/23) Mississippi university working to save Gulf’s oyster industry - Magnolia State Live | Magnolia State Live
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