Oyster Stock is Up - Marine Commission Official
Mississippi's public oyster reefs hold nearly twice the harvestable stock they did a year ago, but state regulators are recommending the harvest limit stay unchanged.
The estimate, presented to the Commission on Marine Resources on Sept. 16 by a Department of Marine Resources presenter identified as Jason Ryder (name unconfirmed), put the harvestable total at roughly 398,645 sacks, up from about 274,833 the previous year. Despite the increase, the presenter said the agency's recommendation to the director is to keep the season's cap where it has been. "Our recommendation to the director is to maintain the 30% quota of each reef," the presenter said, citing continued concern about reef resiliency.
Holding the harvest at 30 percent of each reef's estimate would still allow for roughly double last season's take when the season opens Oct. 1, according to the presentation.
The decision carries direct consequences for licensed harvesters, since the quota determines how many sacks can legally be pulled from public reefs this season. State-generated data on the public oyster resource has become a closely watched figure for the coastal fishing industry, which depends on the commission's annual quota decisions to plan for each season's harvest.