# Tonight @ UGA - Save the Oysters Seminar



## Mechanicaldawg (Feb 10, 2010)

SAVE THE OYSTERS! Oyster Reef Restoration in Georgia

Location:1030 Chicopee Complex, 1180 E. Broad St., Athens, GA 30602

Time:6:00PM Wednesday, February 10th


The University of Georgia’s Marine Extension Service coordinates a community-based oyster restoration project called GEORGIA (Generating Enhanced Oyster Reefs in Georgia’s Inshore Areas). This program recycles oyster shell to create new oyster reefs, and enhances stewardship and public awareness of the importance of oyster reef habitat along the Georgia coast.

Intertidal oysters are described as “keystone” species as they play a critical role in maintaining a healthy coastal ecosystem. Georgia’s oyster populations were once immense; however, overfishing, habitat degradation, and disease have considerably impacted these estuarine communities.

Come learn about helping the oyster reefs and adjourn with Athens' CCA Chapter to Lansdowne Road Irish Pub in downtown Athens for 25% discounted beverages for all CCA Members!


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## fishtail (Feb 10, 2010)

Probably a good thing to join up and participate being they are planning to ban the Gulf oysters, the Atlantic coast will need all the help it can get.
(Not meaning to hijack a thread, but for those of you that haven't heard.)
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2009/10/27/3431537-fda-to-ban-sale-of-raw-oysters-from-gulf-of-mexico

NEW ORLEANS — Federal officials plan to ban sales of raw oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico unless the shellfish are treated to destroy potentially deadly bacteria — a requirement that opponents say could deprive diners of a delicacy cherished for generations.

The plan has also raised concern among oystermen that they could be pushed out of business.

The Gulf region supplies about two-thirds of U.S. oysters, and some people in the $500 million industry argue that the anti-bacterial procedures are too costly. They insist adequate measures are already being taken to battle germs, including increased refrigeration on oyster boats and warnings posted in restaurants.

About 15 people die each year in the United States from raw oysters infected with Vibrio vulnificus, which typically is found in warm coastal waters between April and October. Most of the deaths occur among people with weak immune systems caused by health problems like liver or kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, or AIDS.

"Seldom is the evidence on a food-safety problem and solution so unambiguous," Michael Taylor, a senior adviser at the Food and Drug Administration, told a shellfish conference in Manchester, N.H., earlier this month in announcing the policy change.

Some oyster sellers say the FDA rule smacks of government meddling. The sales ban would take effect in 2011 for oysters harvested in the Gulf during warm months.

"We have one man who's 97 years old, and he comes in here every week and gets his oyster fix, no matter what month it is," said Mark DeFelice, head chef at Pascal's Manale Restaurant in New Orleans. "There comes a time when we need to be responsible. Government doesn't need to be involved in this."

The anti-bacterial process treats oysters with a method similar to pasteurization, using mild heat, freezing temperatures, high pressure and low-dose gamma radiation.

But doing so "kills the taste, the texture," DeFelice said. "For our local connoisseurs, people who've grown up eating oysters all their lives, there's no comparison" between salty raw oysters and the treated kind.

A Gulf Coast oyster — or better still, a plate of a dozen oysters on the half-shell — is a delicacy savored for its salty, refreshing, slightly slimy taste. Some people add a drop of horseradish, lemon or hot sauce on top for extra zest.

Treated oysters are "not as bright, the texture seems different," said Donald Link, head chef and owner of the Herbsaint Bar and Restaurant in New Orleans.

"This is an area the government shouldn't meddle in," Link said. "What's next? They're going to tell us we can't eat our beef rare?"

Until the 1960s, raw oysters were rarely eaten in the summertime. (The old adage was never eat oysters in the months without an R in them.) But changes in harvest patterns and advances in refrigeration and post-harvest treatment have made the industry a year-round business. About three-fifths of the Gulf's oysters are harvested during the warm months.

The FDA is promoting a ban because high-risk groups are not heeding warnings about raw oysters, and millions of other people may not know they are vulnerable.

If federal officials require post-harvest treatment, they "will be ruining an industry that has been around for centuries," said Sal Sunseri, co-owner of P&J Oyster Co., a French Quarter oyster wholesaler.

"We've been doing this the same way since the 1920s," said his brother, Al Sunseri, as shuckers in rubber gloves worked their way through piles of raw oysters destined for oyster bars and restaurants. "We're located in the French Quarter. We're not going to get the permits we need to do post-harvest processing. We don't have the space for it."

In Plaquemines Parish, the Louisiana "boot" that juts into the Gulf south of New Orleans, 49-year-old oyster harvester Peter Vujnovich Jr. said the FDA was "totally out of its mind."

Croatian-Americans like him have been harvesting oysters for decades in the area's brackish bays and lakes. He said the ban added insult to injury after he spent tens of thousands of dollars upgrading his boats to meet recent refrigeration regulations.

The FDA contends treating oysters would not affect the taste and would save lives.

"Oysters that undergo post-harvest processing treatment will rarely pose a problem," Taylor said, "while those left untreated can have deadly consequences."

The FDA cited California as the best example. In 2003, California banned untreated Gulf Coast oysters and since then "the number of deaths dropped to zero." By comparison, between 1991 and 2001, 40 people died in California from the infection.

The rule would not affect oysters harvested outside the Gulf. Oysters are harvested up and down the West and East coasts, but the bacteria is not found in such high concentrations there.

Some in the industry, especially the handful of companies that have invested in high-tech treatment technology, praise the FDA plan.

John Tesvich of AmeriPure Processing Co. in Franklin, La., said the industry has "suffered from all the negative publicity" associated with Vibrio vulnificus. He said his oysters, which are treated in a warm bath, taste as good as any others. "We have thousands and thousands of satisfied customers."

But most of the oyster industry is worried.

Anita Grove, executive director of the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce in Florida, said a ban would be crushing. She said oyster harvesters, shuckers, truckers and dealers are "the backbone to our economy. It's always been that way."

Avery Bates, vice president of the Organized Seafood Association-Alabama, predicted two-thirds of Alabama's 50 "mom-and-pop oyster shops" would close, mostly because of the cost of treating oysters.

"We see more people die each year from peanuts, chicken, E. coli, beef," he said. "It's like singling out a certain section of the food industry."

___

Associated Press Writer Phillip Rawls contributed to this report from Montgomery, Ala.


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## Mechanicaldawg (Feb 10, 2010)

fistail, thus far, the Obama Administration's effort to end the consumption of oysters has gone over like a lead balloon but we do need to be ever vigilant.

The  "GEORGIA" Oyster Restoration Project is an important work & we certainly do appreciate anyone joining in the effort.

http://www.ccaga.org/volunteer-opportunities/oyster-restoration-project/


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## captbrian (Feb 10, 2010)

the feds have ceased their efforts to ban uncooked oysters down here on the gulf, at least for now!

that's good news jeff! now we can hit up hunts next time you're here!


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## Mechanicaldawg (Feb 10, 2010)

We had an awesome meeting. The UGA-MAREX speaker explained every detail of the biological/life cycle and history of Georgia's oyster.

He is sending me his powerpoint presentation & I try to share it next week.

Very interesting stuff!

Capt. Brian we are coming down next weekend to take possession of the new 320 Outrage. I'll give you a ring & we'll have a few & a cruise!


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## captbrian (Feb 14, 2010)

look forward to hearing from you!


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## grim (Feb 15, 2010)

I remember they did some oytser seeding projects in my neck of the woods after the beds got hit hard by a couple years of hurricanes.  That had to be 25 years ago.  Those are some of my favorite bars to fish now.  It was certainly a sucess.


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## Mechanicaldawg (Feb 15, 2010)

grim said:


> I remember they did some oytser seeding projects in my neck of the woods after the beds got hit hard by a couple years of hurricanes.  That had to be 25 years ago.  Those are some of my favorite bars to fish now.  It was certainly a sucess.



They have been a huge success and we/they are doing a bunch more.

I'll add some pictures, graphs etc. in a few days here but the problem is simple. 

Georgia used to yield millions of pounds of oysters per year with the companies, primarily canneries, that took the oysters not bringing the shells back to replenish the sub-strait. When oyster spat falls out of the water column into mud it is quickly mired up and suffocated.

The spat must have hard sub-strait to attach to in order to grow. This project recycles shells with the cooperation of oyster houses, fishermen, conservation organizations etc. and replaces them to form new beds and replenish existing ones.

They also have developed a coated PVC piping, cut into 3' sections that are driven into the bottom in rows about 9 wide and 90 deep. In just a matter of one year a new bed is formed and you cannot even see the pipe.

Another problem that was brought to light in the seminar was the 3" limit. Oysters mature after 1 year but can't be harvested for 2-3 years. In the meantime, they produce such an overabundance of spat, which attaches itself to oysters that are about 2" in length, thus making those oysters unharvestable, legally, because it is now covered by the smaller ones.

We actually need to reduce the size restriction fro 3" to 2" in order to allow a more liberal harvest.

BTW, the total production of Georgia oysters is about 15,000 pounds per year now.

I think someone would really have to try work hard at being a curmudgeon to find fault with this project.


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## Mechanicaldawg (Feb 17, 2010)

Here's a photo of a reef made from the PVC pipe described above. The pipe was deployed in April 2004:












And fully mature in March 2005.


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## Mechanicaldawg (Feb 18, 2010)

Georgia’s oyster resources were once immense and supported a thriving cannery based industry.  In 1902, more than one thousand Georgians were employed in the fishery, and in 1908 Georgia led the country in oyster landings with 8 million lbs of meat harvested (Harris 1980). 

In this picture oysters are harvested by hand at low tide from beds leased by canneries.








Here is a graph of the oyster industry in Georgia from 1972 through 2004.


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## Mechanicaldawg (Feb 18, 2010)




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## Mechanicaldawg (Feb 18, 2010)

This picture depicts the method currently being used by the volunteers in the G.E.O.R.G.I.A. program.

Human chain stacking bags of recycled oyster sheels






.


The bags are filled by a variety of volunteers. In this picture school kids work in an after school program.

.


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## Mechanicaldawg (Feb 18, 2010)




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