A project demonstrating an alternative way to grow oysters, using off-bottom systems, has launched in the waters off of Grand Isle. If successful, the project could spark new interest in oyster farming and provide a new source for oysters consumed by the half-shell.
Off-bottom systems use racks, cages, rafts or longlines to suspend young oysters in the water instead of planting them on oyster reefs or the sea bottom for them to mature.
Dr. John Supan, oyster specialist with the Louisiana State University Sea Grant Program, said these types of systems have been extremely successful in other parts of the world. For example, a new industry has developed in Cedar Key, Fla., around clam farming using the off-bottom technique.
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