As part of an initiative by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to provide additional harvest opportunities for the Louisiana oyster industry, licensed Louisiana oyster harvesters will be permitted to move oysters from the public oyster seed grounds located in Lake Borgne and Mississippi Sound (DHH harvest areas 1 and 2) in early April and transplant them to their private leases for later harvest. This program is for the purpose of moving live oyster resource from restricted areas of the public oyster seed grounds to private leases.
To view a map of the proposed transplant area click here.
The two state agencies allow such transplants on a permit-only basis, and will only allow the transplant if the oyster season in this area of the public oyster seed grounds is reopened. Permit applications will be accepted March 14 through March 25, 2016 at 628 N. 4th Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The transplant permit fee is $100 and a performance bond of $5,000 must accompany the transplant application. Oyster fishermen who are granted permits will be allowed to transplant during daylight hours between April 1 and April 14, 2016 only, and each transplant vessel must be under the direct supervision of a commissioned officer. All costs associated with the commissioned officer are the responsibility of the person securing the permit. A map identifying the lease where the oysters to be transplanted will be bedded must accompany each permit application. Incomplete applications will be rejected.
Oyster fishermen who receive permits will be allowed to transplant oysters taken from the public oyster seed grounds in Lake Borgne and Mississippi Sound only to a lease pre-approved by DHH. The oysters that are transplanted must remain on the lease until written approval for market harvest is obtained from DHH. No part of any lease on which shellfish have been transplanted may be utilized for direct market harvesting during this period. Shellfish taken for transplanting purposes shall not be laid down within 500 feet of any adjoining lease where shellfish may be taken for sale as food during the active period of the transplant.
The Secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has the authority to close the oyster season in this area if excessive amounts of non-living reef material are found in the oyster loads that are being transplanted.
Applications for transplant permits may be obtained between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, please contact Gordon LeBlanc or Christopher Lemaire, DHH Commercial Seafood Program at 225-342-7539 or 225-342-7540.