Baby oyster production is expected to double and help seed public oyster grounds across coastal Louisiana now that a state-of-the-art oyster hatchery has opened in Grand Isle.
The hatchery is a far cry from the old boat shed with a rotten roof where LSU professor John Supan worked for years. On Wednesday, he was like a proud father showing off the technology at the new facility to state officials and welcoming them into the new era of oyster production.
“Every citizen in Louisiana will benefit from the research that is done here,” said F. King Alexander, LSU’s president.
Owned by the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the hatchery is run by Supan, who also works with Louisiana Sea Grant. The hatchery, named for longtime oysterman and advocate Mike Voisin, who died in 2013, is expected to produce 1 billion oyster larvae a year as well as other seed oysters. That 1 billion is about twice as many as the oyster hatchery was able to produce last year.
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