by Jene' Young
Published: Sun, January 25, 2009 - 4:10 pm CST
Last Updated: Sun, January 25, 2009 - 5:12 pm CST
Alabama oysters are getting hard to find! The cause? Droughts, hurricanes, and even an oyster predator. Thanks to Auburn University's Shellfish Lab on Dauphin Island, local oystermen are getting some help! Scott Rikard with Auburn University says, "The oyster industry has taken quite a hit in the past few years. We had hurricanes Ivan then Katrina that covered up a lot of the reefs. And then you follow that up with several years of drought conditions that's raised the salinity in the area."The low oyster population has forced many oystermen to make a move.
Lawrence Johnson has been an oysterman for 60 years. He says he has never seen anything like this before.
"Most of the oystermen are going to Mississippi to work. Cause Mississippi has oysters. And we don't know why that they have them and we don't."
There is no way to tell how many oysters will come from this 50,000 oyster donation. But there is hope that this donation will make a difference over the next two years.
To find out how you can help, check out this story on Oyster Gardening!
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