Louisiana’s biggest land-building project likely to cause spike in shrimp, oyster prices

Louisiana’s largest-ever coastal restoration undertaking might have a hidden value Louisianans can pay once they order a spherical of oysters or purchase a bag of shrimp on the grocery retailer.

The $2.5 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion will probably have the unintended consequence of jacking up the worth of Louisiana seafood, particularly oysters and shrimp pulled from the extraordinarily productive waters of the Barataria Basin, based on an environmental impression assertion by the Military Corps of Engineers.

Seafood producers agree {that a} huge worth hike is inevitable.

“It’s most positively going to occur as a result of Barataria Bay produces the key portion of the seafood that comes out of this state,” mentioned Mitch Jurisich, an Empire oysterman and chairman of the Louisiana Oyster Job Pressure. “You already know oyster costs are sky excessive, and it’s solely going to go up due to this diversion.”

The flagship undertaking of the state’s Coastal Grasp Plan, the diversion would funnel mud-laden Mississippi River water by means of a bit of levee in Plaquemines Parish and ship it spilling into Barataria Bay, doubtlessly reviving 21 sq. miles of marsh with river sediment. Rebuilding the quickly eroding coast is of important significance for a state that has misplaced land equal to the scale of Delaware over the previous century. Louisiana might lose twice that a lot if bold tasks just like the diversion aren’t undertaken, based on the state Coastal Safety and Restoration Authority. 

The state’s land-loss disaster is due largely to the levees that hold the Mississippi on its present path and shield the communities surrounding it from flooding. The diversion would mimic the river’s pure features, permitting tons of land-restoring sediment again into the basin.

However including enormous volumes of sediment and freshwater into the Barataria may have “main, opposed impacts” on the basin’s oysters and brown shrimp, based on the Military Corps evaluation. Sediment will smother oyster beds whereas the added freshwater will trigger shrimp to develop slower and transfer to saltier water. That’ll probably cripple many small coastal communities that depend upon the fishing business.

The Military Corps believes fisheries will probably be harmed with or with out the diversion. The distinction is timing. With out the diversion, marshes will proceed to vanish, robbing oysters and shrimp of habitat. However the diversion will hasten the fisheries’ decline, lowering oyster and shrimp availability “many years sooner” than if the diversion wasn’t constructed, the Military Corps evaluation mentioned.

The world more likely to be affected by the diversion accounts for a 3rd of the annual worth of the statewide seafood catch, however landings have been in a downward spiral.

The basin produces about 30% fewer shrimp and about half as many oysters because it did 20 years in the past, based on the evaluation.

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Demand for Louisiana shrimp has plummeted as cheaper shrimp from Asia have flooded the market. That could be a much bigger concern than the diversion, mentioned Acy Cooper, a third-generation shrimper and president of the Louisiana Shrimpers Affiliation.

“Two billion kilos of shrimp are coming to the U.S. yearly from abroad,” he mentioned. “We’re preventing a much bigger battle that nobody sees.”

As soon as the diversion is working, a grocery shopper might not discover a worth hike in the event that they’re not choosy about the place their shrimp comes from, however consumers wanting Gulf of Mexico shrimp are probably in for some sticker shock.

“These costs are going to have an upward tick,” mentioned Dan Petrolia, a seafood economist with Louisiana Sea Grant and Mississippi State College. “Individuals might want shrimp from Louisiana, however the larger costs might make them swap out Louisiana shrimp for the imported ones.” 

As a result of most customers need contemporary oysters, there’s little competitors from overseas. However Jurisich says pouring sediment and freshwater throughout a number of the state’s finest oyster grounds will slash an already shrinking provide, making oysters on the half shell much more of a luxurious seafood.

“Before later, oysters are going to be as excessive in worth as lobster,” he mentioned. “And when that occurs, the (shopping for) development isn’t going to be towards oysters.”

Petrolia has a extra dire prediction: “With oysters, it will not be a problem with costs. It might be that there’s nothing left to reap.”

Regardless of worries concerning the state’s fisheries, the diversion is on a gentle observe, with sturdy backing from Gov. John Bel Edwards, many different state leaders, and environmental teams. Final month, the Military Corps accepted key permits that would permit building to start in March 2023.

Jurisich and different business fishing leaders say authorized motion could be the final and finest device they must combat the diversion, however no formal steps have been taken.

With the diversion wanting inevitable, Jurisich is pinning his hopes on Louisianans’ insatiable starvation for Louisiana meals.

“That’s the way in which it’s for me and crawfish,” he mentioned. “If it’s $11 a pound, I will in all probability pay for it. I get that craving. It’s loopy. If you get that feeling, you need to have it.”