Oysters R Us: Gulf oysters are back after Gustav's surge

by René | October 9, 2008 at 11:56 am

485 views | 15 Recommendations | 8 comments

Many New Orleanians refuse to eat raw oysters in the summer. They still follow the old rule that says oysters on the half shell should only be eaten in months with an "R." When they flip the calendar to September, it's a starting gun that signals the season has come to slurp down oysters as fast as the shucker can pry them open.

This year, September proved to be a false start. From the day Hurricane Gustav made landfall until nearly three weeks later, Louisiana's oyster beds, which produce 40 percent of the nation's supply, were closed.

Large storms have closed our oyster beds before.

"Oysters are filter feeders, so whatever is in the water they will take in, " explained Al Sunseri of P&J Oyster Company, which sells roughly a million oysters to local restaurants in a normal month. "So if you have flooding in the area, that water has to come back out and over the top of the oysters."

Jennifer Zdon / The Times-Picayune ArchiveShuckers at P & J Oyster Company are busier than ever now that the Louisiana oyster beds have reopened.
After a flood, any chemicals on the land can be sucked up by the oysters. If the electricity goes out, waste treatment plants might also spill raw sewage into the water. Luckily, the state found only three contaminated samples among Louisiana's 28 oyster growing areas.

But why were oysters nearly impossible to find for so many weeks after this storm?

"In 30 years of being in the business, I've never seen the entire state of Louisiana closed, " Sunseri said. "Erosion has shown its ugly face. You don't have anything to stop these surges anymore." As the threat of flooding increases, the risk of contaminating the oyster beds grows. He believes that this won't be the last time oyster harvesting will be halted throughout the entire state.

"It's a crime, " he said, "that for 25 years we've known about coastal erosion, and they're still studying rather than doing."

Beyond the Gulf Coast, oysters are precious. They arrive like rock stars on jet airplanes. Or, they're farmed from waters subject to pollution and over-harvesting, only producing enough bivalves to satisfy the curious and the connoisseur. In Louisiana, oysters grow in such abundance that we can put down two dozen as a snack and still have plenty to bake, broil and saute for dinner.

"The oyster bars located near Iberville and Bourbon along with the two Drago's restaurants, those few restaurants alone sell more than what's sold in New York City, " Sunseri said.

Todd A. Price, Contributing writer, The Times-Picayune October 08, 2008 2:23PM

If you've never had a fried shrimp and fried oyster poorboy, you haven't lived.

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politisite

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 12:03 on October 9th, 2008

René, I like this story. It's good stuff. That is great to know. I miss my Louisiana Oysters. I remember when Apalachicola oysters were wiped out, they are my second favorite

Amy Judd

at 12:23 on October 9th, 2008

It's good to know that the industry is back to normal. I bet the fisherman were suffering for a long time due to Gustav.

René

at 13:20 on October 9th, 2008

Should be coming soon near you too.

René

at 13:25 on October 9th, 2008

Not so much as you may think. The day we got back from the North Shore, one of the first things I bought was fresh shrimp from a truck (in front of the only supermarket open, with scarce supplies) from the Westbank/Westwego Fish Market, probably from Venice down in the tip of the boot. Next week went to the fish market and got fresh shrimp from Lake Ponchartrain. Not everybody was open, but they were this week.

Amy Judd

at 14:26 on October 9th, 2008

Oh interesting to know. I thought it would have been quite a bit worse actually.

Barry Artiste

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:39 on October 9th, 2008

René, I like this story. It's good stuff. Aw Shucks, ah love oysters

Raw Oyster Alert (not verified)

at 03:28 on October 15th, 2008

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Check out the website www.rawoysteralert.com. I was shocked to learn that several individuals die each year from the consumption of raw oysters that are contaminated with naturally occurring Vibrio bacteria. Some gulf states have chosen to not take action in order to make raw oysters safe for ALL consumers.

Several years ago, the state of California made a requirement that all imported raw oysters must be pasteurized and since that requirement was put into place there have been NO FURTHER DEATHS in that state.

In order to affect change, consumers need to only accept oysters that are SAFE through post harvest processing or through being cooked. Consumer demand drives the market and the industry would be forced to provide oysters that did not lead to unnecessary deaths.

The website www.rawoysteralert.com has a wealth of information available and also explains how you can help in making the consumption of oysters safe for everyone.

Victor Foster (not verified)

at 06:32 on November 9th, 2008

I have moved back to the states (unfortunately Alabama), and am a New Orleans native. I can only find West Coast oysters at the markets here (and they suck). I wish I could find a store to get them before Thanksgiving.