To say that the seafood industry in Louisiana is beleaguered is putting it mildly. From climate change to cheap foreign imports, from hurricanes to inadequate capitalization, this vital economic and cultural sector is threatened from all sides. Within the industry, the oyster fishery has had a particularly rough time, being further challenged by multiple environmental
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The traditional practice of the Louisiana oyster industry has been for producers to obtain state licenses for specific oyster-growing areas. Oysters grow in certain types of bottom terrain in near-coastal waters, and are harvested from the wild. This leaves them vulnerable to predators like crabs and certain fish, as well as disruptions to the sea floor brought on by large storms or industrial accidents.
While this approach continues to account for the majority of Louisiana oyster production, a new Grand Isle method is quite different. Called “off-bottom,” it is exactly what its name suggests: The oysters are grown in cages suspended from the surface, which provides multiple advantages, from higher survival rates to year-round production and edibility. In addition, off-bottom oysters often grow to market size in 10 months, while wild oysters usually require 15-18 months.
Nathan Herring is among this new breed of oyster farmers. Herring grew up in northern Mississippi, and graduated from college with a degree in wildlife and fisheries science with an emphasis on aquaculture. He spent some time in New York City, where he was involved with the Oyster Restoration Project, a group working to return wild oysters to New York Harbor.
“While I was up there, I met a young oyster farmer who had started his own farm,” Herring recounted. “The idea kind of clicked for me.”
Herring moved back south to New Orleans, where he worked in real estate and drove a pedicab while starting his oyster farm. For the last two and a half years, tending to his oysters has become his full-time occupation.
“I learned both about how good they are for the environment and how they were something I could grow as my own business,” Herring said. “As filter feeders, they reduce the amount of nitrogen in the water, which reduces algae blooms. Oyster reefs slow down wave action, which slows down coastal erosion and creates marine habitats. Even around the cages I see a lot of baby shrimp and small fish.”
As described by Herring, off-bottom oyster farming starts with the farmer obtaining oyster larvae, which can be from 2 to 6 millimeters in size.
“You use little sieves to put them in the floating cages to grow,” he explained. “You start with very fine mesh cages, then move them into larger mesh cages as they grow.
“You have to keep the cages clean to ensure the water flow,” he added, something he does first by pressure-washing them and then leaving them out on land to dry. “You have to make sure that nothing is living on the cages.”
The cages, which Herring described as looking like a mailbox attached to a float, have the added advantage of being easy to raise and lower, depending on factors ranging from tides to predators to incoming hurricanes. This helps safeguard the oysters and expedite their growth.
Herring estimated that 90% of his work is sorting the oysters as they grow at their individual rates. As the process progresses, the oysters are placed in tumblers with various sized holes and spun around to separate them by size. While this apparently does not make the oysters dizzy, it does contribute to their market appeal.
“The tumbling breaks off the edges of the shells, which then grow back thicker,” explained Herring.
“This helps with consistency and makes them easier to shuck. You get a cleaner, prettier, more consistent product that looks good on the plate.”
Final sorting to determine which oysters are ready to go to market is done by hand. When one considers that Herring raised about 175,000 oysters last year, operating close to 800 cages (numbers he expects to surpass this year), it’s easy to see why the process consumes so much of his time.
Herring feels that the mollusks he and his colleagues produce are truly high quality.
“The waters of Grand Isle give the oysters their flavor,” he asserted. “Being so close to open water, we get fresh Gulf water with each high tide. You get this rich chicken or vegetable broth kind of flavor, with a little sweetness in the middle.”
While obviously an advocate for his oystering method and product, Herring also values the traditional approach.
“I see what we are doing as a complement to wild-dredged oysters,” he said. “It’s not competition, just a different product. I think it’s neat to go to a restaurant and try oysters from the same waters grown in different ways.”
Off-bottom farming is not new — initially developed in the Northeast it’s been around for close to 50 years. It was developed when long-time oyster-producing waters such as New York Harbor and Long Island Sound experienced large die-offs of the mollusks, leading area aquaculturists to search for new cultivation methodologies. Now, with all the stresses on oyster production in Louisiana waters, the time is ripe to adopt the off-bottom approach in the Gulf.
Grand Isle Jewels is now the overarching theme for the marketing campaign. Bologna noted that the name serves to emphasize the oysters’ clarity, while also evoking the heritage of the many pirates that once sailed through the area. Grand Isle itself is sometimes referred to as “the jewel of the Louisiana Gulf Coast.” The name also serves as an homage to Jules Melancon, a multigenerational oysterman from the region who was the first to employ the off-bottom method in 2012 and who passed away in 2023.
The publicity campaign includes professional marketing videos along with a website to help promote the story and the product. To further establish the local connection, the shape of the oyster in the brand’s logo is similar to the shape of Grand Isle.
“Whether regional or not, people know about Grand Isle,” Bologna elaborated. “We want people to go into restaurants and ask for Grand Isle Jewels by name.
Bologna added that the campaign is designed to help foster a sense of pride for the farmers and the industry but emphasized that each farmer retains his own brand and distinct oyster flavor. By way of comparison, consider the California wine industry. Russian River, for example, may be famed for its Chardonnays, but each winemaker uses its own techniques, and each individual Chardonnay has its own individual character and flavor.
Around Grand Isle, noted Bologna, “each farmer may have a different methodology, which results in a slightly different taste. One farmer’s oysters might be a little saltier than another one.”
Variables that lead to these distinctions can include anything from the water depth at which the farmer chooses to grow the oysters to the amount of salinity in the water at the time the mollusks are harvested. However, bringing the oystermen together under the Grand Isle Jewels brand enables them to create a collective niche in the seafood trade.
“This was an overarching opportunity to bring awareness to an important local industry and to try an innovative way to bring a unique product to market,” Bologna observed, adding, “This is an industry that has suffered a lot, from generational loss to competition from imports.”
The issue of cheap imports is an ongoing sore spot for the seafood industry as a whole, though Bologna noted that the various tariffs that have become a focal point of American trade policy should bring some relief – though they will not solve all the problems.
“When you talk about tariffs, there will always be winners and losers,” he said. “The Louisiana seafood industry will be a winner. It has been hit hard by imports, which are often of a lower quality. But you can’t compete with them on price point, which has led to generational loss. That’s a significant problem, because these are industries passed down from generation to generation.”
a slightly different taste. One farmer’s oysters might be a little saltier than another one.”
Variables that lead to these distinctions can include anything from the water depth at which the farmer chooses to grow the oysters to the amount of salinity in the water at the time the mollusks are harvested. However, bringing the oystermen together under the Grand Isle Jewels brand enables them to create a collective niche in the seafood trade.
“This was an overarching opportunity to bring awareness to an important local industry and to try an innovative way to bring a unique product to market,” Bologna observed, adding, “This is an industry that has suffered a lot, from generational loss to competition from imports.”
The issue of cheap imports is an ongoing sore spot for the seafood industry as a whole, though Bologna noted that the various tariffs that have become a focal point of American trade policy should bring some relief – though they will not solve all the problems.
“When you talk about tariffs, there will always be winners and losers,” he said. “The Louisiana seafood industry will be a winner. It has been hit hard by imports, which are often of a lower quality. But you can’t compete with them on price point, which has led to generational loss. That’s a significant problem, because these are industries passed down from generation to generation.”
