Optimizing MS oyster production

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Seventy-five percent of oysters harvested in the U.S. come from Gulf Coast states, but Mississippi oyster production has been sliding for a decade. In 2004, nearly 500,000 sacks were harvested compared to 2014 when it was a little more than 78,000 harvested, according to the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. The economic impact of the lack of oyster production went down more than $10M - from $23.7M in 2009 to $13.47M in 2011. Mississippi State University environmental and agricultural economic researchers are hoping to develop a tool that helps the state’s oyster industry. Daniel Petrolia, an associate professor of environmental economics in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, was awarded nearly $600,000 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and will lead a team to develop a shellfish portfolio assessment tool called SPAT. The tool will assist resource managers and oyster farmers to determine the best oyster cultivation practice that will minimize risk while maximizing benefits. The state established a goal to produce one million sacks of oysters per year (a sack equals 1.5 bushels). (Source: Mississippi State University 09/07/17) William Walton, associate professor in the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences at Auburn (Ala.) University; Just Cebrian, senior marine scientist with the Dauphin Island (Ala.) Sea Lab; Jason Rider, oyster extension agent with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources; and George Ramseur, office director for Coastal Restoration and Resilience with the Mississippi DMR, also are collaborating on the project.