Fisheries And Fishermen Hard Hit By Decline Of Oysters On Gulf Coast
Typically, the week before Thanksgiving would mean a busy oyster shucking floor at Bon Secour Fisheries on the Alabama gulf coast. But this year just three shuckers are working to fill gallon tubs with oyster meat. There should be 20 more.
"When there's no oysters to shuck, they don't have any work," says Chris Nelson, vice president of Bon Secour Fisheries, a family-run seafood company that dates to 1892.
Record flooding on the Mississippi River sent too much fresh water into the Gulf of Mexico, killing oysters and crippling other seafood harvests that depend on salt water to survive.
A gulf coast favorite for Thanksgiving is oyster dressing, but might not show up at many tables today. Gulf oysters are hard
