(AP) — State biologists and scientists have deployed more than 100 million oyster larvae and 500,000 oyster spat to help rehabilitate oyster grounds affected by hurricanes in the last six years.
The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said Thursday the larvae and immature oysters were released in the Hackberry Bay public oyster seed reservation, located in north Barataria Bay. Officials say the specimens were deployed on test plots of reef to enable biologists to track progress.
The effort is the first of many ventures to help rehabilitate Louisiana’s oyster grounds. The state plans to institute similar deployments of larvae and spat on other public grounds and private leases.
Before last year’s BP oil spill, Louisiana produced about one-third of all oysters harvested in the U.S.