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So, today we are out at the Point Aux Pins oyster farm.
This is one of the first off-bottom oyster farms in the Gulf of Mexico. And what you're trying to do is,
you're trying to take an oyster
uh... and it's the same, it's the same oyster that you get in the wild.
It's just you spawn them in a hatchery.
and we call them oyster seed when we do it that way.
So we take oyster seed
and you raise them in some type of container -- a basket or bag --
that's up off the bottom
in some way.
STEVE CROCKETT: So over the years, uh... we've
experimented around with some different methods, and we
we like the Australian long-line method.
And that was one of four grow-out
methods that Auburn research set up at our site,
I believe 2008. BILL WALTON: When I started working here, uh...
we got some funding from Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant.
And this was specifically to try different types of gear --
different baskets or bags that we can grow oysters in
and see if it was
technically feasible
and also see if people could make money at it.
STEVE CROCKETT: Our, our growing method
keeps the uh...
the oyster in an enclosure, a mesh enclosure off the bottom, out of the mud
and away from predators.
And so, just by handling the oysters periodically over a period of
12 to 18 months and keeping them in the water
uh... we're able to get a market size 3- to 4-inch oyster in that period
of time.
BILL WALTON: The nice thing about these oysters is because they're the seed from the
hatchery,
they almost all grow that perfect shape with a nice deep cup and a nice broad fan and
they've got a real pretty white shell.
And, so, you're producing
a, what i would call, a world-class oyster
that's really destined for a raw bar
or a fancy restaurant, where you can get top dollar for it.
So one of the things we really like about trying this year
is the idea that what we can do is, we could add
a product to our local economy. This won't compete
with the oysters coming off of a reef. Those oysters are still gonna go to
shucking houses, and people will still have those jobs. That's, that's we want
that.
This is trying to add something where people can now grow a fancy oyster
that's going off to those
premium restaurants, so that you're getting higher dollars for it. So it's something that we're hoping to add to the economy.