Harrison Co. residents object to oyster farm proposal
Published 2:00 pm Tuesday, May 3, 2016
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A plan by the Department of Marine Resources to lease out a section of Bay of St. Louis to oyster farming is drawing concerns from Harrison County residents.
Local media outlets report the county Board of Supervisors first heard from DMR executive director Jamie Miller before residents voiced concerns at Monday’s supervisors meeting.
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The DMR has proposed leasing a section of the bay out to private oyster farmers in their effort to rehabilitate the Mississippi oyster industry.
Much of the opposition to the project comes from neighbors in the Henderson Point-Pass Christian Isles area. The head of the local civic association calls it a “recipe for disaster.”
Miller said the Coast has been producing about 26,000 to 28,000 sacks of oysters since the BP oil spill, down from about 500,000 in 2003-04.
