I’m surprised there was no mention of Mississippi beaches being closed all summer. There were a few incidents of “flesh eating” bacteria on open sores where people died. There are things going on in the Gulf that people are ignoring. This is one of them.
1
good article but. . .not one word on how things are going in Florida's gulf coast; specifically Apalachicola.
In the early 80's I used go to the "Old South Oyster Bar" (on the 'Trail,' Sarasota County FL) for a dozen or two raw shucked oysters for one buck per dozen! This was on their 2-4 PM special. The summer oysters were too soggy (and scary) for my tastes; but the cooler weather ones were great!
It’s awful that humanity can cause the extinction of so many species of life just in the course of my life.
Honestly, what are we collectively trying to accomplish? Trash the planet? Earth is our only home. Seems so obvious to say that, but I wonder if most people just don’t really understand how miraculous and fragile our little world is. Depressing.
1
This is sad and preventable. The confluence of poor planning, bad policy, excessive deregulation and economic chicanery has resulted in degradation of important fisheries in the costal and inland waters of the United States. Between the rapacious greed of the gulfs fossil fuel drilling and the politicians that enable their destructive ways and the deeply unwise channeling of the Mississippi River system by a politically drive army corps of engineers reacting to flooding lowlands you have consequences both predictable and criminally negligent. Salmon in the Pacific Northwest, shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico, most of the Great Lakes fishery etc, etc, etc. There is nowhere that is not affected by the commoditization of natural resources. Don’t expect it to get any better either, the federal government is seeking to open up almost everywhere to the resource extraction industry regardless of the damage they’ll do. To even question the cupidity and stupidity of this is to be labeled a “extreme environmentalist”. Positions considered moderate during the Nixon administration are intolerable to an industry / government cabal swollen by greed and fueled by wealth. Oysters, who needs oysters. There’s oil to drill and soybeans to grow, eat that instead.
2
It's not just Louisiana and Mississippi. Apalachicola bay in the Florida panhandle, produced 90% of the wild oysters for the southeastern US for years. The bay is now closed to wild oystering, disrupting generations of families that relied on the independence of that profession.
Farm raised oysters is the future for this region in the foreseeable future.
2
It remains to be seen whether the unusually heavy spring rains that flooded the Midwest and produced the excessive runoff swelling the Mississippi River are one-time event, or a harbinger of things to come. As so many articles have pointed out, "climate change" is a Real Thing. Its effects are being felt NOW, as opposed to in some indefinite far-off future time. Disruption of the oyster’s delicate brackish water ecology is but one very minor effect of climate change. More significant effects also loom, existentially threatening the very same area. Any requiem for the oyster and the oyster industry must necessarily be hurried and brief, for there will soon be a much larger requiem for the entire Gulf coast of Louisiana.
Not only the oyster bars at Acme, Felix’s, and even the po-boy counter at Domilese’s are threatened, but the restaurants themselves:, their neighborhoods may soon become prime redfish habitat, as distant glaciers in Greenland and in the Antarctic melt, and as the oceans themselves warm and expand.
Yes, climate change, predicted for over a century now, is HERE. Today! Now! And climate change chickens are coming home to roost; great flocks of them. There will be no stopping them; there will be more than enough to visit every town and city, and every countryside. The time to act was yesteryear, and we didn’t. So today we weep for the lowly oyster. Tomorrow we weep for ourselves.
1
I am not understanding why we can't have a fresh water pipeline from the southern states to CA,AZ,NM,etc.We can pollute the land with oil spills but we can't figure out how to save fresh water?Think of the money and lives saved by being able to transport water from flood areas.
2
Gulf oyster growers should be careful. The Delaware Bay used to also have a huge oyster production culture. Then oyster populations collapsed.
Careful management for a few years could have real long term benefits.
4
Not a snowball's chance I'd risk the health issues of oysters from the polluted, oil spill Gulf waters. Those days are long gone.
5
The GOP and Trump want to get "The Science" out of decisions concerning the environment. Now that is "brilliant." Of course climate change and environmental pollution are just "Fake News." So if Southern voters keep voting Red they can just tell their grandchildren how there were once oysters in the gulf of Mexico.
7
The dominoes to planetary extinction are fallng a little faster every day.
5
Here's an idea: stop having huge trawlers dredge up marine life for our insatiable appetites for a few species.
3
In my thirty-year conservation career with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, one of the the few things I could rely upon to feel better about being in a red state controlled by corporations was that at least I wasn't in Louisiana. Louisiana's environmental record is absolutely abysmal and their natural resource regulations are a dadgummed joke. I don't care what resource you're talking about - alligator, deer, shrimp, oysters, red snapper, spotted seatrout, you name it, the Louisiana way is to let resource-dependent interests determine what the bag and size limits, seasons, and gear restrictions are. Their politicians are notorious for laughing directly in the face of scientific evidence. Their only response to exploitation is extirpation.
Louisiana is a textbook case for where Trump's natural agenda is headed.
11
A dead canary in a coal mine. One of many. What a time to have an Administration that's actually hostile toward science.
7
"Oysters, traditionally cheap and plentiful, are more central to the restaurant and cooking culture of the Gulf Coast than to that of any other region." This is only true now because we have extirpated or nearly extirpated naturally reproducing oysters from many of our great U.S. estuaries. Local oysters were a central part of the food cultures of these other regions previously (San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, Chesapeake Bay, etc.) Take the long view and recognize the pattern: these Gulf oysters are goners, too, because our culture does not understand how to live within and nurture the web of life. For further reading, I recommend the book The Living Shore by Rowan Jacobsen, which explores the history and ecology of estuaries, with a focus on the Olympia oyster.
8
Changes in salmon and crabbing yields, freshwater fish with mercury, ungulates with chronic wasting disease, these are other bells tolling that humanity's actions have consequences. Nature doesn't concern herself about fairness; life exists within certain defined chemistries or it does not.
Humanity is not exempt from these rules.
8
Is there any problem afflicting the USA these days that isn't the fault of Trump and the GOP? Reading the comments on this article it appears that only Democrats act responsibly. It seems the solution to every problem is to change the political landscape. After a while it sounds like a scratched record: Trump is bad, Obama was perfect. And yet NYT readers are surprised when Trump supporters don't listen to them.
3
@Ian
Do you notice that President Trump doesn't believe that the natural world should stand in the way of the people who could get rich exploiting it?
Give me the name of any President of the United States of America that ever entertained the idea of allowing URANIUM mining close enough to run off into the Grand Canyon? President Obama was not a "stable genius" no previous Presidents were. Previous presidents relied on experts who had spent their lives studying. Only accumulators are respected by the current President.
5
@mary Don't forget, Trumpites align themselves with the conservative view of the Bible- rather than being stewards of God's garden, it is God's intent that we exploit it and become wealthy by it. Environmental effects don't matter because to them the earth is temporary anyway- heaven is where all chosen are headed, so destroying our earthen paradise is not only acceptable, it's what God intended. Not that any of this makes sense. But Trumpites have a big issue with common sense and their concept of Christianity. (And little of what they do resembles Christ in any way shape of form).
5
@mary FDR, Truman, Eisenhower. There were uranium mines all over the west.
Not to say Trump's administration is good.
Uranium mining was an essential part of the Cold War. Now there is no excuse.
Oysters are dying off because everything is dying off.
We’re destroying the biosphere, the web of life. Thoughtlessly. Needlessly. Stupidly.
Crude oil is one main culprit — our economic activities involving it and the poisonous nature of the substance itself. Drilling for it. Extracting it. Transporting it. Refining it. Storing it, in all its new forms. Gasoline. Propane. Countless “petroleum-based” products. Plastics.
Just burning it for the energy it contains pollutes the atmosphere. That, in turn, contaminates the oceans because atmosphere and oceans are one, actually the same system. Spills contaminate waterways. Accidental fires.
And its secondary destructiveness — how it empowers us to do things no other species can do. Travel vast distances quickly. Tear the surface of our planet to pieces. Build vast cities that crush everything beneath them. The rest of Creation still relies on muscle power. We now rely on machines. Our machines are destroying the biosphere, along with their fuel. Mass extinctions everywhere that, soon, will include us.
So, of course we see the famous Gulf Oysters disappearing, just like five or ten other species every day. We happened to notice.
9
We need to finally come to grips with the fact that a planet run exclusively for growing billions of humans and everything they need is not going to be very good a growing anything else and at some point nothing else. In our rush to "be fruitful and multiply" we've knocked the very systems all life depends out of whack. A planet in balance can never support 7.8 billion of us no matter how we live and certainly not how Americans live. The party is ending. The hangover is next.
9
Time for the Impossible Foods or somebody like them to invent Impossible Oysters!
(I know there's nothing like the real thing, but we could see this.)
1
Midwest flood water that reaches the Mississippi delta doesn't just decrease the salinity of the water, it adds all kinds of agricultural runoff from fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste. None of that can be good for the oysters.
13
@Vanessa Hall
I don't know how many people in the Mid-West realize this, but the air in the middle of Manhattan at rush hour is more breathable than the air waiting to get up to the Arch.
2
Australian oysters have suffered various viruses and in large estuaries the oyster have died. However these are oysters taken from dredged seabeds, an aggressive and damaging harvesting method likely to spread disease. These are farmed sprats set out in baskets to mature without damage to bay beds. After recent disease experiences, government marine labs assisted in the identification and development of lines within natural stocks resistant to disease and bred up sprat from those. In the end peak oyster production has been down for three years and the really big issue arising is warming waters even as far south as Tasmania.
2
Climate change.
Climate crisis.
Helped along by our mostly rich old Republican politicians.
10
Dead oysters in the south, dead scallops up north in Long Island. Honestly I wouldn't even want to eat the live ones anymore because of all the pollutants in our environment that may be in them. Our planet is dying and we with it. Just don't expect oysters on the half shell for your last meal.
8
@C. Bernard
Back in the day, I was buying a sack/bushel of oysters for $8-$10. I recently saw Cedar Key oysters for sale in Chipley, FL for $95 a sack. More than I want to pay and I won't consume then raw anymore either.
Stone crabs are suffering the same fate.
3
The food angle is a good one, because many Americans don't "believe in" science. Maybe this will help.
10
Federal dollars will now flow to Alaska, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi thanks to Wilbur Ross’s Dept of Commerce.
Somehow the recipients will manage to remain in denial about climate change, all the while convinced they are not receiving a federal handout. They will continue to vote red.
Time for a change.
9
Perhaps the residents could stop killing these animals so they will not have to bemoan the fact that their numbers are declining.
5
Trump to the rescue! https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/climate/trump-clean-water-rollback.html?searchResultPosition=1
2
I am appalled at the self centered comments concerning the woes of having to do without oysters or using another type of shellfish in lieu of oysters.
My god people. Have a great salad, a good cup of coffee with a slice of peach pie and call it good.
I truly don't understand how people can be so asleep to our oceans and rivers being ruined and fished out.
It's over. Done. We screwed it up.
We as human beings have to rethink our eating habits. This includes not pining over sick and dying oyster populations.
Sorry to be so brusque but it's kind of disgusting.
4
Understand the plight and price hike (‘people used to .25ct oysters). But what of us Northerners paying $3-4 for farm raised oysters.
1
It will all continue to worsen, it will not get better in this system of things as man is incompetent to rule man and todays rulers rule with making personal profit at the expense of the greater numbers. This system is passing away as well as all that is in it and a new world order run by the Kingdom of God is about to be installed on this Earth to time indefinite.
13
@DG
And maybe this new Kingdom won't have humans in it.
18
The "kingdom of man" has gotten us in this mess. There is no kingdom of anybody to follow, just a wrecked planet that could have served a less short sighted species forever.
14
@DG Idaho
Life on Earth is full of cruelty and it is basée on thevstruggle for survival. If such life was created by God or Supreme Being, its evolution must have been planned on His primordial laptop as a chaotic process, not as a well organized one.
Apart from that, a belief in life as Eternal Struggle of Good and Evil may have a calming effect on searching souls.
2
I don't want anybody to lose their jobs but it may be time to call a halt, or place a limit, on oyster harvesting. Mollusks serve the purpose of filtering water. If there are too few of them, water quality will suffer further. A moratorium on Chesapeake Bay oysters (ersters), helped restore the population and industry. Nobody needs to eat oysters, but some short term pain may be worth long term sustainability.
Just a note: Down here we're lousy with Pacific oysters. They are farmed extensively and as a result find their way to every wet rock on the coastline. But that doesn't stop restaurants from charging $4 to $6 each.
8
Louisiana has a chance this weekend to reelect their Democratic governor. The anointed Trump candidate, Rispone wants to deregulate. Elections have consequences. Deregulating oil and gas drilling in LA will only make conditions worse.
16
The gulf spill referred to in the article happened during a democratic administration. The policies that got us to this sad state have been going on for decades. Short sighted stupidity is a bipartisan issue.
3
Large scale midwestern farming practices need to change. Republicans will never let it happen. Say goodbye to gulf oysters, the gulf is and has been a cesspool for the Midwest farming industry.
18
@Jeff
I had a conversation with a farmer from Iowa who had a condo at Orange Beach, AL. He stated that all the fertilizer and pesticide he used ran off into the Mississippi and into the Gulf of Mexico. He was smiling when he said it. We have traded seafood for GMO corn.
4
"It's just a cycle, the oysters will be back."
"The EPA oversteps their bounds- too many restrictions inhibit profits."
"Climate change is a hoax."
"Hillary Clinton."
"Benghazi."
"But Obama...."
Republicans have an excuse for everything. Including dying oysters.
13
Our waters are sewers. Nothing can live in it. Poisoned by oil spills, sewage, agricultural waste and dumped garbage. The scallops, crabs, shrimp, lobsters are the low end of the chain. They support the bigger fish of the oceans and waterways. When they're gone, the rest die. It's very simple really. This is what's happening right in front of us. Right now. We are part of the food chain. Can anyone guess our future? I'm betting dead oceans will impact us just as dramatically and tragically as the crustaceans, just in case if you're rationalizing we can live without shrimp cocktail and oysters on the half shell.
14
The oceans will be stripped of anything edible within a few decades, unless humans figure out how to eat plastic trash.
11
No one believes in science or any of that "fancy book learning" in Louisiana. But they blindly pledge allegiance to "oil field jobs" and then turn right around and blame the government when their homes flood and the economy shifts. The Gulf will eventually reclaim everything south of New Orleans and the only people who will be surprised will be the people who live there who think "hopes and prayers" are a plan. To quote Anderson Cooper after Katrina: “Hope is not a plan." How can I be so sure of all this? I spent 32 years there as a public school teacher, and things have just gotten worse over the years. You can't fix a problem when no one acknowledges it.
20
Oh well.
Lately, that's the only reaction I can muster to the impact of one after another after another after another avoidable environmental disaster.
Oh well.
And it's too bad that the US managed to end up with a President determined to wreck the environment right when we most needed someone to try to save it.
Oh well.
6
OK, five days ago we learn that the bay scallops are dead off Long Island. Today, we learn that the oysters have been wiped out in the Gulf. What is scary is the scope and degree of seafood destruction. It has been said that climate change will affect food production and we have already seen major species have been wiped out, but who are the major consumers of bay scallops and oysters? It's us. Add to that failing crops from the Central Valley and Midwest and you can't help to think we are the next species on the list.
9
This is much more of a "save my home" problem than a climate change issue:
"The spillway protects communities near the Mississippi’s mouth from flooding by releasing water from the river and reducing pressure on the flood-control system." and "Mr. Juisich... knew early on this year that the oysters were in danger, because he couldn’t taste any salt in the water."
Oysters like not-too-much salt in the water and not-too-little either. Release the flood gates and this balance is upset.
People will have to choose between where they live and what they eat -
1
@Wilson1ny - You are on it. The whole climate change craze is all about saving coasts. Everywhere. Climate change itself is eternal and unstoppable. Humanity's impact is too minuscule to affect it. It's the height of egotism to think we can.
As a Louisianaian, acutely aware of the situation, I can't for the life of me see a positive light out of this dark tunnel we've created for ourselves. Climate change has occurred & continues to change centuries old climate patterns. Without a totally revamped economy with a GND like focus we will only see these environmental tragedies worsen.
If Americans can't take care of their own countrymen with hc for all why should we think we can adequately care for the environments of our wildlife. All very sad indeed. Political revolution must occur if we even want a chance at addressing climate change. Capitalist & the system of capitalism must be stopped because it's destroying the only world we will ever have.
11
It is nothing to do with climate change - just writing everything off as climate change can be used as excuse to not invest money into eradicating the disease, by governments.
Here are some links (1) first article, about NZ Bluff oysters, dated, 1/6/17. (2) Second article about NZ Bluff oysters, dated 21/7/19.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/93219392/bluff-oysters-at-risk-after-lethal-parasite-discovered-on-stewart-island-farms
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/114285796/could-the-oyster-disease-bonamia-ostreae-be-completely-eradicated-from-the-deep-south
2
@CK Everything is climate change to the climalarmists.
just leave the oysters alone.
My finest gustatory experience with gulf oysters was back in the early 90's at a shucking shack run by Vietnamese and supplied by Vietnamese oystermen. Never have I had a fried oyster Po-Boy made with oysters as fresh as a sea breeze. Wouldn't touch any shellfish out of the Gulf now. New England and Virginia have done an excellent job filling the void. If you're ever passing through Rhode Island, Connecticut, or in Damariscotta Maine, be sure to savor the Watch Hill/Quonset Point, Connecticut Blue Point, and the Pemaquid. And the hardshell, little neck clams are wonderful too.
2
Did anyone notice a similar article last week on the death of scallops in Peconic Bay?
Hmmm ....
6
Don’t forget the scallops up in the Boston area they are also dying....kind of tells you something
5
I thought this was all a "hoax?"
3
Meanwhile they continue to support the GOP. Climate change is killing our world and the US is looking the other way....
6
Lots of misinformed people on here.
FRESH WATER KILLS OYSTERS.
4
This is what happens when you destroy the environment so don't act shocked Joe Republican
8
The planet is dying, but on the bright side no one can be forced to make a wedding cake for gay weddings.
GOP thinks it was worth it!
28
The freshwater issue is all over the place. Apalachicola Bay in Florida is home to the best oysters anywhere. Freshwater intrusion from Georgia has drastically reduced their numbers.
3
@Steve
I was in Mexico Beach last year. I discussed oysters with a 3rd generation local. His veridict? Thumbs down. The issue with Georgia has changed the salinity in Appalachicola Bay and the oysters are suffering.
Florida sued and lost.
1
Probably a bad idea to keep voting for Climate Change deniers?
7
We have climate deniers and the fossil fuel business to thank for this new sad reality. It is disgusting.
6
It is all about climate change. Voting for Trump will change your diet forever.
2
Perhaps the NY Times should also run an article about farm-raised shrimp, fish and shellfish and why so many people break out in hives and rashes after eating these poor substitutes.
3
If we continue to use our waterways as industrial outhouses a lot more than oysters will be lost.
4
If worse comes to worst and the oysters are no longer harvestable, look to Norway. Pacific oysters have invaded the southern coast of the country and are now branded pests because of their sharp shells that make barefoot summer bathing hazardous. Some clever entrepreneurs saw the opportunity and have begun supplying the shellfish to Oslo and Bergen restaurants. They'd likely jump at the chance to supply American restaurants with this unique Nordic Ostreidae.
@tualatin
They might be cleaner too with fewer parasites or bacterial contamination because of the higher water temperatures.
1
Twenty-five cent oysters? I’ve never seen those prices in south Texas.
1
One thing we now no for sure is the EPA has announced it will not use science to solve the oyster decline problem.
Maybe GOP thoughts and prayers will bring back the oysters.
141
@✅Dr. TLS ✅ --
Hey, it worked for mass shootings.
Oh, wait...
17
I hate, hate, hate oysters, wouldn't eat them under any circumstances, BUT they clean the water and are essential to the health of our bays and sea shores. We should do everything we can to save them! Once they're gone, they're GONE. Beware.
7
Gulf oysters are dying. New York scallops are dead. As the impact of climate change increases, Trump continues to weaken the rules protecting us and our environment.
5
To me,this news is worse than the stock market crash of '87, dot.com bust of 2000 and '08's financial crisis all together. Cancer may be worst than this but not by much (I had cancer btw) . The Presidential candidate who can fix this has my vote.
1
@e. No one president can fix it. WE, all need to work and sacrifice together to save Earth.
2
Just the tip of the iceberg.
This global warming should have always been called climate disruption. And it's going to negitively affect most living things.
Global warming might suggest a slowly warming world, not much to worry about besides AC and rising seas. But climate disruption has the potential to make life harder for everyone.
This morning as an artic blast floods across the midwest, here in Houston we are experiencing a record low. Not something you would expect in a warming world. Expect more extream conditions. Hot and cold, wet and dry.
Plants and animals are designed to grow and prosper in certain specific climates. But Climate Disruption will produce wildly variable climate that plants and animals cannot overcome. The results will be catastrophic.
The time to act is now.
135
@may21ok You are someone who understands the implications of climate change which will affect everything we take for granted. Unfortunately millions have no clue until they become a statistic. The planet will repair itself, but it will be an unrecognizable world.
30
@may21ok
The time to act was decades ago. As the research showing an acceleration of climate change floods in ( no pun intended) it's becoming clear we've underestimated how fast things are moving and how short, if anytime exits at all, to make meaningful changes. The tepid policies of things like "the green new deal" might have made sense 10-20 years ago. That time has passed.
9
@may21ok
The time to act was 50 years ago.
9
Oysters, in addition to being delicious for us to consume, also serve a role in the health of waters they live in and filter.
I hope these scares serve as an impetus for locals to fiercely fight for the health of their waterways - their lifeblood and source of sustenance.
177
@ML
totally true. An adult oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day. NYC is seeding oysters in its bays and inlets to help clean up the water.
27
@sjs
There are solutions to most problems but those in charge first have to recognize that there is a problem and then have the intelligence and backbone to do something about it.
Those red states have neither.
26
@sjs
Keep in mind the fact that what is filtered out the water remains in the oyster.
8
Sorry, but we're doomed.
We're all doomed.
Nobody is going to do anything about it, nobody is going to fix it. It would be nice if someone would, but no-one is going to.
Oh well. It's coming, soon.
Doom.
10
It's not just a "southern tradition" that is at risk. It's our very lives.
6
@Mary A
Luckily global warming has nothing to do with it.
2
Now that is has been determined by the administration, that we no longer need science to base our observation and decisions on, things can only keep getting better!
16
It's not just a "tradition" that's "at risk," it's marine life overall, animals of all sorts, and the life of the planet that are in jeopardy.
23
My Dad had a little sign in our kitchen that he found somewhere: "It was a brave man who ate the first oyster."
Moving forward, it appears it will be only wealthy men and women who can afford to eat them.
7
@Kevin Brock Your dad's sign could change to: "It will be a rich man who eats the last oyster."
4
Raw oysters, my mother's seafood gumbo and her shrimp etouffee' are my 3 favorite meals. The oysters are the appetizer (of course), but the other 2 are "to die for". Fortunately, you can still get the last 2 in Louisiana, but (sadly) not the oysters. The first time I had them was in New Orleans French Quarter at "Acme Oyster House" (as mentioned, there are now several locations). Then, the raw oysters were 10 cents each. While there, a dear friend (now long gone) ate 4 dozen in 5 minutes. It was extremely impressive (to my teenage mind); much like the time Paul Newman ate 50 hard boiled eggs in 60 minutes. That was in the 1967 movie (of course) "Cool Hand Luke" (what a cast!). "Luke's" achievement would be have been much more difficult, but that's "Hollywood". 2 years later, I had oysters Rockefeller at Antoine's. This is truly a shame for people like the Sunseri family at P & J's (less than 5 years from their 150th anniversary) and especially, so many other smaller oyster fishing operations. Everything flows south down the Mississippi out into the Gulf of Mexico; whether it's good or bad. Lately "it" has been a whole lot of bad. Between Mother Nature (Katrina, the deluge of fresh water and the "Deepwater Horizon" crude oil spill (the worst man-made disaster in history), it's no wonder so many millions of oysters are dead or dying. In fact, it would be odd if they did survive. Perhaps, like crayfish farms, someone will have oyster farms (if this has not already been done.
4
Gulf oysters are the canary in the coal mine.
21
we are surely destroying Eden.
if we don't stop soon, we will cease to be.
15
Another mad-made disaster. It's coming down to this: we can have fossil fuels, or we can have good, wild, food. I'd prefer the latter; I think it's clear we're going to get the former instead.
We have a very small carbon footprint in my family. But you can't live that way in the suburbs, and there are a lot of people in the suburbs. A lot of people just in general, that's how we got here.
12
Agreed. Having spent half my life in Louisiana and the other half in New York City, this gives one a unique perspective. Therefore, please don't forget Hurricane Katrina. Although I was born and raised in Louisiana, I was living in New York City for over 7 years the day my wife gave birth to our daughter . Ironically, it was the weekend of Katrina striking New Orleans. She was born the same day the levees broke, flooding much of the city. This is what killed the most people and caused the most damage. We have done and are still doing far too many bad things which causes the bizarre weather we are witnessing today. However, incredibly powerful hurricanes have been around long before we did anything to make them larger and more frequent, like today. Only 2 Category 5 hurricanes have struck the US since the 19th Century.*Note: Andrew (horrific) was Cat. 4; but mainly due to TV, NOAA's NWS afterwards "changed the rules" to rate it "5". I would call both Cat. 6 if it existed. I believe it soon will. They were "Camille" in 1969, making landfall at Pass Christianne, MS. With sustained winds of 190mph (highest ever recorded) gusts broke all anemometers, est at 250mph , with a surge of 26'. The "Great Hurricane of 1900" which struck Galveston, TX: the most catastophic natural event in US history, up to 10,000 lives lost. My 3 y/o great aunt lived through it. *Read "Isaac's Storm". We've killed too much life on this planet. We have to stop. It's that simple with proactive measures.
Ohh the sweet irony, that all the States in these underwater misfortunes are Trump States. And of course Trump doesn't believe in climate change, he believes plastic is perfectly acceptable fish food. But don't worry, when Trump and the republicans have done all the damage they can do, the democrats will come in and save the day, just like they always do. I just hope the fish can hold out that long, they don't particularly seem fond of living in poisoned water.
9
The article should mention all the beaches in Mississippi were closed all summer long because of blue green algae in the water. Residents and tourists were warned not to let the water touch human skin.
17
One solution: Oyster farming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_farming Oysters raised in 'maturation tanks'. Added benefit is reduced risk of bacterial contamination.
Second solution: Impossible Oysters and Beyond Oysters, get busy entrepreneurs! My preferred solution as I've been a vegetarian for 40 years.
But, I have no solution for the many millions who will be displaced by rising seawaters. New Orleans is likely to go the way of Atlantis.
3
@ShenBowen
You still need brackish water to grow the oysters. And farming them in tanks is a lot more expensive than farming them in the wild.
Don't expect a turnaround with the oyster population until we obliterate Trump and the GOP's assault on the environment.
11
But addressing climate change will involve costs our economy cannot afford
1
@John Smith Please, Mr. Smith! How much do you think that clean air and water and enough food for everyone as well as jobs, are worth? Our lives, our health, our children all depend on all of us addressing climate change, whatever the cost. Try reading a dystopian novel or two to get the flavor of what’s coming otherwise.
5
@John Smith
Hmm. Perhaps you are right that we can't afford it.
At least, until you look at the cost of NOT addressing it. That price will eviscerate your bank account, make your head spin and empty your belly.
But hey, the stock market is doing great!
Up in the Pacific Northwest, we are having a similar problem, the “eggs” of oysters are actually raised in Hawaii until they are of age to attach to local “netting’ in the waters of Puget Sound, so yes they are Pacific Oysters, but they have a Hawaiian “birth certificate” . From talking to the Taylor Family, who own the largest producing “farms” in the northwest. It is mostly due to the degradation of our waters, rising water temperature, and several other climate related issues.
I truly love fresh ocean raised seafood, but I do not expect it to be something my grandkids, and especially great grand kids, will be able to have on a regular basis like I do, unless they defer to the bio engineered farm raised kind. We do need to save our earth!
5
@Wayne Kwiatkowski They may not be able to have it at ALL!
2
Humans are perfected consumers. What'd we all expect?
2
And the Washington Post just happen to have an article about the loss of Salmon in Hokkaido, Japan due to climate change :https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/world/climate-environment/climate-change-japan-pacific-sea-salmon-ice-loss/
These are happening all around us everywhere we look.
8
Coal miners, soy bean farmers, veterans, trump u. students, and now oyster farmers....from where my state of mind lives, you are in the trump orbit, victims of the big con, and bewildering to me that you can’t meet me half way in seeing this reality. And, as much as I love gulf coast oysters, native raised with a long history of bellying up to oyster bars since in single digits....the failure to see the con bothers me that much more. Well, maybe.
7
How can people who live off the abundance of the ocean, dredge? Dredging destroys everything it touches.
11
Guess what folks? This is only the beginning. We are in the early stages of human induced extinction, called the Holocene or alternately, the Anthropocene extinction. When feeling cynical, I say, bring it on, homo sapiens are too stupid to endure. But when I think of my grand kids, and all the amazing beautiful life on Earth, I fight back. Join the Extinction Rebellion and let's stop business as usual, since its obvious now, that is nothing less than suicide.
16
Every new car purchase in America MUST be a non-ICE (internal combustion engine) or at least a plug in hybrid. That should include trucks as well. And get those monster diesel laggards off our roads. We have >5 years to make this transition as our leaders sat on their behinds and collected "donations" from the oil and auto industries for the last 20 years instead of thinking of our children. Shame in them all.
6
Well, there you go. Even the most ardent denier of human- caused climate change will soon enough be confronted with going without those luscious NOLA oysters. And all of us can suffer together.
Until McDonald's last filet-o-fish is sold....
3
Wow - that gentlemen at Pascal's Manale pictured above shucked my oysters in 2009. I ate so many of them because they were so cheap - I could not eat my dinner. New Orleans oyster's are special. Plump and juicy...
3
Here in Maine our lobsters are vanishing and the clams are almost all gone. The price of seafood is becoming prohibitive and for those of us who try not to eat meat but occasionally like to add fish and seafood to our menus, it's disappointing.
7
There is actually a phrase for this. It's called "tragedy of the commons" and it's not a red state, blue state, or even American problem.
We need to collectively speak, listen, plan, and act.
How humanity manages fisheries is a global problem.
How humanity treats it's waterways is a global problem as the concerns of those downstream and the larger ecology are rarely considered.
20
Tax cuts for corporations and the rich, completely ignoring climate change and continued war on any sort of agricultural/chemical/land use regulations will be the most likely recipe the GOP-voting gulf states will follow.
15
Miles and miles of area in the Gulf of Mexico are called "The Dead Zone" because agricultural runoff has killed everything-plants and animals- in the Gulf. The area is growing.
I lived along the Mississippi River where tens of thousands of acres of cotton were grown. Crop dusters flew almost every day, spring, summer, fall. The pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides fell like rain. I know because often when driving, a crop duster would fly over the road and their payload showered down so hard I'd have to use windshield wipers.
This freshwater floods that killed the oysters sent even more agricultural runoff into the Gulf. After the cotton harvest in the fall, you can see that the machines missed half the cotton. It hangs there and rots over the winter. We are sending massive amounts of pollutants into the Gulf for crops that stand in the fields and rot.
33
@Linda -- Leaking oil is flowing into the Gulf at this very moment, and has done for many years. Very little can live there, and our government doesn't give a you-know-what about it, because politicians take SO much money from the oil industry. There is so much human-made crisis in our oceans, we almost can't handle all of it, at this point. Don't believe me? >>>
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-energy-oil-spill-gulf-of-mexico-15-years-later-2019-03-15/
3
Every day, mainstream media provides coverage that clearly shows that our days as a species on this planet are numbered. Courage is much more important than hope, in this most interesting time.
9
We tax payers are bailing out states losing their industries to global warming while their elected politicians deny climate change exists as they allow companies to increase pollution
I think it is time these takers need to live by their votes.
13
I will not eat nor have I eaten any seafood from the Gulf since the oil spill ; sadly , one cannot be sure of any seafood from any of the bodies of water the world over . If mico plastic pieces are being eaten by fish in the oceans then how healthy can that be for those that then eat the fish .
5
@sm Actually it's the Corexit and the cholera that gives Gulf oysters that extra special flavor ... I'd personally eat them until I burst, any time.
@Steve Enjoy ! To each his own .
It seems we are in the early middle of another great mass extinction on planet earth. I must distance myself from my emotions, as it seems too late to avert the extinction.
Sad.
However, I advocate trying to reverse the rate of CO2 rise caused by humans with immediate measures to limit all forms of burning anything, even renewables. Not gonna happen, but I'm saying it's a goal (a very urgent one!) and we need to try.
"If we haven't ceased attempting to succeed (at any particular task), then we haven't failed".
Don't give up.
9
"An oyster has hardly any more reasoning power than a scientist has; and so it is reasonably certain that this one jumped to the conclusion that the nineteen million years was a preparation for him; but that would be just like an oyster, which is the most conceited animal there is, except man."
Mark Twain "Letters From Earth"
For all those people who think that humans are God's favorite and that he made the world for our benefit, to do with as we please.
For all those "conceited" men and woman who think they can drill, frack, pollute, etc. without consequences.
Please note, humans are no more or less favored than the oyster.
There is one difference however, humans can alter their behavior. We can become the stewards of our planet. The oyster already does its job by filtering the water.
Humans need to do their part in cleaning up the mess we've created.
40
Keep voting GOP until all the problems are solved. Tax cuts for the rich and increased pollution are the panacea that will save us all.
48
@gratis
Republican party and oysters dying. Lets hope the oysters make a come back.
6
So when are people going to get it?
We all live on Space Ship Earth - our enviornment is, and has been under attack for decade. Pollution, oil spills, agricultural run off, alge bloom, over fishing, multiple sea species either at or near extinction - the depressing list goes on.
I live in South Florida. Lobster, stone crabs, snapper, are all being over fished, plus our reefs are getting bleached by global warming.
Yet we keep electing environmental morons to public office and stock oversight governmental agencies with people who either are clueless or hugely under funded.
I am concerned that only after a huge portion of ocean species are extinct or beyond recovery will society really begin to forcefully demand action.
58
Not to worry. Let me set you straight. No one will do anything and dear little creatures on land and sea will die, quickly followed by us, the ultimate careless selfish predator. It’s only going to get worse, much worse and sooner than later. Enjoy yourself, its later than you think.
64
What isn't dying? The news would be if they were okay.
19
Perhaps the disappearance of the Gulf oysters and the Long Island scallops is just another Chinese hoax.
31
@Ann O. Dyne
It is Obama's and Hillary's fault, and all those who don't go to their local evangelical church on Sundays! If we pray properly, according to my very Republican sister-in-law, God will never let it happen!
4
And yet the South keeps voting in climate-change denying deregulators.
66
@Pastor Jeff it's not just the South.
you've heard of Iowa, Kansas, etc.
6
@Pastor Jeff Yup. Here in Florida they rewarded "Red Tide Rick" for his eight years of climate change denial and weakening of environmental regulations critical to the protection of our water supply, shorelines and fisheries by sending him to the U.S. Senate. Here in Collier County, where the environment and beaches are the economy, the good Republicans voted overwhelmingly to send Rick Scott to the Senate despite his execrable record on all tings environmental.
11
@Pastor Jeff Its sadly proven that even a beaten and abused dog will not leave its owner, even to the point of death!
4
Thank you environment change deniers.
29
All the southern fisherman who voted for trump or any climate change denier are sowing the seeds of their vote and support of these people.
40
Fresh oysters were a big part of my Southern childhood. My dad's family would all get together for my grandma's birthday around Thanksgiving. The night before the really big feast all the grown-ups would congregate in the hangar (had a crop duster and a landing strip) and eat huge quantities of oysters out of poke sacks and drank copious quantities of moonshine, the real deal. Dad and Uncle Bud shucked 'em. Aunt Clyde 'em slurped straight up, most of us ate them with a saltine and Tabasco. Heaven.
47
@Nancy the use of crop dusters just contributed to the death of all species in the Gulf.
15
@riley I'm sorry to know of that. Of course, crop dusters killed plenty of people. We are talking about 1968. I certainly wasn't promoting crop dusters just trying to be clear about Southern upbringing.
12
What about crawfish?
2
@11b40 - they're freshwater, so having too much of the Mississippi wouldn't be harming them.
2
@11b40 Not impacted because they are not a salt water creature.
@11b40 They are freshwater creatures, but the fresh water is polluted, so I wouldn't touch them.
ACME stopped selling raw oysters. That's like if Cony Island stopped selling hot dogs.
25
Take it up with the EPA. Oh wait, the GOP/Trump just made it useless to help the health and well being of voters aka tax payers.
Not to worry, the GOP just proposed oil drilling in the Atlantic. So much easier when all wildlife is dead and the sea is already toxic tho flowing inland may be a problem. s/
24
@poslug No problem. The rich will go terraform Mars and the moon. They'll leave the rest of us behind to deal with the environmental impacts of their greed.
2
There are a lot of Southern traditions that are going to come to an abrupt end very soon. Like going outdoors between April and October or standing on dry land south of Orlando. Or pulling something edible out of the Gulf of Mexico.
We have used the oceans(and specifically the Gulf of Mexico) as our toilet for centuries. Our population size has finally caught up with our stupidity and the scale of our destruction is global. We are witnessing "failing harvests" of shellfish and the death of coral reefs worldwide. Wild caught fish of any size are basically unaffordable because there are so few.
As we kill the oceans, we are killing ourselves. After everything that we eat is gone, when our poisoning and overheating and acidification reaches a certain point, the plankton will fail and we will, as a species, have three or five years left. Sadly, we will take 95% of the other species on the planet with us and leave an overheated hellscape to the ants and the jellyfish.
76
@Julian Fernandez: Yes, and then creation will start all over again even if mostly from scratch. The wealthy will survive longer and better than most, but will live in a changed, lesser, natural world. Many of them probably won't survive either. We can only rejoice in living in the age that we have. It will be so much more difficult for each succeeding generation as the inevitable plays out.
13
@Julian Fernandez - there is possibility to reverse some of the damages, but it depends very much on ending the regulatory capture, particularly under the current lobbyist-infested Administration.
The clean waters regulations proposed under the Obama Administration were a necessary step to reduce the flow of excess nutrients off of our cities and farms and into our rivers. That would have started to shrink, rather than increase, the Gulf's dead zone.
That it's possible was shown on a smaller scale in the Atlantic around NYC and New Jersey - ending the open-sewage dumping has turned around the water quality to the point where, for example, falling into the East River is less of a medical emergency than it used to be.
We have to end the careers of the politicians who pretend the EPA that Nixon created is "burdensome" to the public welfare, or that our clean air and water problems were solved permanently by stopping our worst practices
It's an ongoing process to potty-train our society, and some (including the President) are happier sitting in our own mess.
13
In the South, there are no other oysters - only Gulf oysters.
5
@vivian Oysters grow in all the Southern states that have brackish water, including the creeks along the Georgia coast & tributaries edging the Virginia parts of the Chesapeake Bay. I grew up eating the former and now that I live in Virginia, I am loving the oyster's resurgence there. The science of caring for oysters is known. Vote for people who will follow the science to restore the Gulf habitat.
For starters, outlaw dredging.
Southern tradition at risk?
Our very lives are on the line and our planet cries for help. I don't care about Southern tradition.
Our planet is ailing and we need to help her.
28
@Sparta480 The Planet doesn't care one way or the other, it will continue to support whatever life forms can survive. Current species, however, are in a big mess, thanks to humans.
3
@Sparta480 Yes! Southern traditions have existed for one hundredth of a second, at most, in earth's history. We need the broader view, which is: our planet is dying.
4
If Gulf oysters are dying, the biggest problem is not that people in New Orleans have to forego a tradition.
57
Oysters filter contaminated water, then we eat the filters. People filter contaminated air and water with our lungs and GI tracts, but we’re smart enough to refrain from eating the results.
3
With the rollbacks on toxic discharges you've now got a fresh stream of death rolling down our rivers and draining right into the Gulf of Mexico. The eye-opener comes when you look at the support for these policies in the very towns that are most affected. Mobile, Alabama is a perfect example where they can't get enough trump.
25
@Thomas Payne I have no sympathy for a region of our country that continually supports a person who denies there is anything wrong. Apparently oysters are not on the menu at any of his properties.
21
First the oysters lose the water they need to survive. At some point humans will begin to lose the water they need. Then the weapon of war will be brought out.
Humans (and other species) will eventually pay the price for the greedy, self interest of the financial fat cats who continue to ignore the warning sirens in order to grab that quick buck.
Those victims will pay a heavy price for someone else's sins against the environment.
16
My wife and I moved to NOLA in 1984 after a five year stint working in Manhattan.
I don’t like raw oysters but had my first Oysters Rockefeller at Antoine’s shortly after moving and have loved the dish ever since.
We left NOLA after 20 years, luckily a year before Katrina.
We lived Uptown near Tulane and are familiar with all the restaurants mentioned in the article.
It’s too bad about what’s going on with oysters but Louisiana made a bargain with the oil and gas industry long ago to sacrifice a natural ecosystem unique to the world for a free ride of little or no taxation for its residents thanks to oil royalties paid into state coffers.
Adding to the irony of the situation is the state’s longstanding fealty to the GOP with its ostrich like approach to the science of climate change.
The famous NOLA credo of laissez les bon temps fouler is a game Mother Nature doesn’t play.
57
@winthropo muchacho
Mother Nature does play that game, with or without us.
The good times will roll.
Overhunting and fishing, habitat loss, pollution and now global warming.
None of these happen in a vacuum but there are synergies among them which make the whole vastly greater than the sum of the parts.
The climate change we’ve made so far is small compared to natural variability (+5 degrees C coming out of glaciations) but we could make change as big as any natural change and a whole lot faster.
And we’re pushing the system in multiple ways.
3
..."worries fishermen and chefs"
Indeed, we should all be worried. Very much worried.
Don't say we weren't warned.
8
Increasingly acidic waters are threatening Pacific Northwest oysters. Increasing CO2 in the air is absorbed by the ocean, making seawater more acidic, which makes it hard for baby oysters to form their shells. The acidic water eats them up. Likely, the same problem is or will affect other areas, too. So while this years' low harvest in the gulf may have been caused by Mississippi flooding, a return to "normal" will never happen. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is over 400 ppm and rising, and Republicans don't care.
6
@Sherry
"Ocean acidification is the scientific term used to describe how seawater chemistry is changing due to increased amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ocean from human activities, such as deforestation and combustion of fossil fuels. Since the Industrial Revolution, CO2 continues to increase in the atmosphere, some of which is absorbed by the ocean. This extra CO2 has changed the chemistry of seawater, making it more acidic.
"As seawater becomes acidic, it contains fewer carbonate ions that are available for marine organisms. This shift in chemistry affects marine organisms that need calcium carbonate to form skeletons and shells. Aquatic species respond in different degrees to the changing ocean chemistry. The changes in ocean chemistry affect the base of the marine food web and ultimately affect shellfish and fish populations, including those harvested by people for food."
https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Puget-Sound/Issues-problems/Acidification
5
I often wonder what our descendants will think, looking back and wondering why we saw so many signs of the ecological collapse, imminent disaster, impending climatological chaos, destruction of fresh water supplies, depletion of resources, and overpopulation... yet, politicians, citizens, world leaders did nothing.
We are ALL dooming this beautiful, perfect (and I say completely unique) planet and the people to come after us in favor of forestalling any short term inconveniences.
Sometimes I think the only thing that could possibly save humanity is if a virus suddenly wiped out 50-90% of us all...
22
@Bob Lob
Descendants? Aren't you the optimist!
6
@Bob Lob A virus might save humanity. i believe climate change will end it. I despair when the simplest idea of reducing meat consumption (I never eat it) is mocked by the right, and publicly denigrated by Laura Ingraham. She gleefully posed with a steak studded with straws to annoy left leaning environmentalists - the ones trying to save the planet for her children. What a wag, that Laura. I continue to try to reduce my carbon footprint, albeit with little hope.
Perhaps saddest of all? My Millennial daughter and her peers look cynically on the human race, and say 'good riddance.'
1
I'm convinced there is a new, widespread bacteria in oysters that causes severe stomach cramps.. It's happened to me the last three times I ate oysters in three different states. Just another reason I no longer eat seafood.
4
The phenomenon of the acceleration of climate change has devastated fisheries worldwide. This phenomenon is the result of shifting weather patterns promoted by the exponential expansion of fossil fuel development and use by a every increasing world population, who have the $ to now consume more of everything.
We will soon—sooner than we still imagine—that we can’t drink fossil fuel or eat money.
5
As the Mississippi water flows south through America it picks up the fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide run-off from America's bread basket, not to mention a bit of sewage. At the delta it combines this run-off with petro-chemical and refinery outflow. In the gulf it gets a dab of crude from the ongoing Deepwater Horizon release and generally leaky gulf-wide production practices.
No matter how good it tastes, why would I eat a filter feeder that concentrates this toxic soup in its flesh?
21
@khclifton Yes, I stopped eating oysters years ago. I see them as the canaries in the coal mine. I still eat some seafood, but alas, not as much. I am from Texas and I will always remember the beloved jumbo Gulf shrimp and crab of my youth. But, now I stick to the cold waters of Alaska and my adopted home state of WA for salmon, cod and halibut when I can afford them. And tuna sandwiches are rare in our house. I will be 69 next month and I probably won't live to see the end of the world. But my friends grandchildren, all under five, what will it be like for them? Don't those captains of industry have grandchildren? Don't they want to breath clean air and have plenty of fresh water?
10
I was in New Orleans recently and oysters were scarce as the the article states. We need to face that this is more evidence of the canary in the coal mine. Our planet is sick and we are contributing to it’s poor health. If we don’t act soon it won’t be just oysters that will be missing. We have heard reports of significantly fewer birds and ocean fish too. Our air and water quality is worsening and temperatures are rising. All of this bodes poorly for many species survival. It will put dramatic pressure on food sources for all living creatures.
14
it’s serendipitous that this is running on the same page as science being barred from EPA research.
40
Why do they have to mess up the oysters? I mean, it is so popular in New Orleans and the region messed it up with an oil spill. In New Orleans, Louisiana the tradition of seafood is a must. However, the tradition has to be ruined by a company's mishap. It is honestly ridiculous that multiple restaurants have to shut down for a little while because of someone's mistake.
3
@Adriana Laville
"Heavy rain and snow in the Midwest caused the Army Corps of Engineers to open the Bonnet Carré Spillway, about 33 miles northwest of New Orleans, for a record 118 days last winter and spring. The spillway protects communities near the Mississippi’s mouth from flooding..."
There was no company. No mishap.
6
@uwteacher
If so many people had not drained land for farming or built in flood plains, it wouldn't have been necessary to control the runoff. It would have just gone into the marshes as nature planned!
6
@Susan in NH
Quite true. In fact the growth in formerly rural areas also contributes.
In my opinion it is very unnecessary to use specifically Gulf Oysters. There are other types of oysters that can be used and will not hinder the tradition. Fisherman who collect these oysters may have a problem, but for regular people who are participating in the consumption of these Gulf Oysters, it may be easier to simply try a different type.
@Kira J. Gulf oysters taste best!!
1
@Kira J. It will be a moot point soon, as NO oysters anywhere will be found for us greedy, short-sighted humans to consume.
1
@Kira J.
You're missing the point. The oysters have disappeared because of heavy fresh water inundation from upstreeam in the midwest (due to climate change). The problem isn't the type of oyster in a po' boy, but climate change.
3
A system that passes a tipping point has a hard time recovering all by itself. I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay - blue crabs and Oysters still struggle, and so do their fishermen in some seasons, in spite of many years of rehabilitation. We all need to care more.
20
Why Gulf Oysters? Why can they not use any other type of Oyster? Is it a Southern Tradition to use only Gulf Oysters? In my opinion i feel like if their running out or have limited supplies of Gulf Oysters they should just use a different type of Oyster until the Gulf Oyster starts to increase in population.In addition i can infer that the Gulf Oyster is low on numbers because of the carrying capacity.
2
@Jaime C They are all experiencing habitat stresses. The Connecticut lobster fishery, the Long Island scallop fishery, conch in the Caribbean, and countless other fisheries going going gone. We’re in a mass extinction event, one that’s only just beginning. The old habits of exterminating one species to just moving on to the next aren’t going to keep seafood on your plate. It’s all dying.
9
@Jaime C freshness. Great oysters can be had from Prince Edward Island (malpeque) to Texas. If they are fresh. The fresh gulf oysters are as good as any, if they are fresh. That's what you would get from Key West to New Orleans. Apparently not so much any more
1
@Jaime C
What is it isn't just Gold oysters?
This could be preventable, at least in part. It may be due to low oxygen levels or toxins affecting some level of the food chai, either or both of which could be due to agricultural run-off. Or rising water temperatures or acidity, which might at least be slowed if we didn't have a delusional Denier-In-Chief in the White House.
1
Everything is so good until it isn't. All these regional malfunctions are adding up while we keep ignoring the big picture. There isn't much hope for the rest of us when the rulers of the world (1%) are not part of the solution.
28
Again why are we doing something big, as a nation. Other than our small choices for climate change. People just don’t get it. I don’t want to work on anything else other than climate change.
9
@Calleen Mayer We do have some other worthwhile goals: healthcare for all citizens, decent public schools, harmony among our races and religions and responsible leadership in our states and in Washington. If the U.S. can't achieve those goals, it will either become a banana republic or will be split up between Russia and China.
5
@Bearded One, let's prioritize. You're suggesting healthcare, public schools and religious harmony are more important than whether our planet chews us up and spits us out due to our flagrant destruction of it? 20 years ago 99% of us thought everything was hunk dory. 40 years ago a few of us had the insight to see this coming and did nothing. Now we're in the midst of imminent ecological catastrophe. Only the Greta Thunbergs of the world can save us, but even they are too late.
3
@Bearded One What will healthcare matter when there is no clean water or air or enough food for the billions of us already here? Saving our planet comes first, please.
There is some good news in this story...
The oysters are the same in the Atlantic. Pretty soon, historically warm Gulf waters will be available in the Mid-Atlantic region, giving crabbers something to do when the Chesapeake runs out of crab!
We can't begin to understand all of the "downstream" impacts of climate change. More people lose their jobs to climate each year than would if we closed every coal mine in the country...but understanding that requires consideration not available in 280 characters.
17
@gio the Gulf is now just a dumping ground for chemical and oil companies. They are turning the waters into dead zones, where nothing can live.
3
@gio It isn’t just temperature levels, estuaries are going anoxic. Oysters need oxygen.
3
@gio
With all the dredging along the coastal islands for beach "nourishment" do you really think the fishing industries in that area won't be negatively affected?
2
My sincere sympathies to ostreivores, and may the shortages befalling the oyster fisheries be short and only temporary.
As for myself, I do not like live molluscs wiggling in my mouth, and I avoid oysters, after having studied their mode of life.
3
@Tuvw Xyz
Metoo!
My family moved to New Orleans in 1966. I never liked oysters, most especially raw oysters. They spread hepatitis and other assorted parasites, bacteria, etc. When someone says they love raw oysters my immediate thought is if they have been screened for hepatitis.
1
@Tuvw Xyz
Freshly shucked oysters do not "wiggle" in ones mouth. And if you seriously studied the oyster's "mode of life" (whatever that means), you'd be aware that they are among the "cleaner" of organisms one can consume. If you eat meat, you should be more concerned about what that pig or chicken was doing before it wound up on your plate.
1
@ PJ USA Nov. 12
@Tuvw Xyz And if you seriously studied the oyster's "mode of life" (whatever that means) ...
Oysters are filter feeders, which means that they can ingest polluted material particles with pankton. Their water-filtering ability in Delaware Bay has been well studied.
So many comments blaming an oyster shortage on a political party. Duh. Oyster farming has always been subject to the whims of nature. There have been oyster shortages before, with the usual fears and claims that the end is near. On occasion oysters are banned from certain waters because of contamination of some sort or another.
What's bad for oysters is good for the Louisiana coastline. Saltwater intrusion is destroying coastal marshes. When they open the spillway and the river is high freshwater wetlands can recover.
5
Where have y'all been? This has been happening for years. Apalachicola Bay isn't producing any wild oysters anymore, only farmed. As Atlanta and it's suburbs have grown and taken more water for themselves, it leaves less and less water for the Chatahoochee and Apalchicola River system to move water into the Apalachicola Bay, and in return the oysters die. This is not only an issue with oysters. This is an entire ecosystem that is in trouble. The birthplace of so many of our species in this area are in serious danger. It's so sad, and it was all so unavoidable. I hope there is still time, my fear is that we are too late.
36
@jenbo Both global warming and bad conservation policies have been hitting across the US, let alone the world, Florida is an even worse example, But the current administration doesn't believe in global warming and has no interest in regulation to protect air, water or land,
Imagine what will happen if Trump is reelected and he doubles down on this lack of care, Good luck!
19
Just like the scallop industry, the oysters are also a "canary in a coal mine" for climate change. Add to that, the penchant of the current administration to roll back those noxious environmental regulations that get in the way of profit, a recipe for disaster. Humans are bringing this on themselves and the worst thing you can do is vote for politicians who either ignore the problem or claim it is not a problem.
122
We need to strand $1 Trillion of oil and gas extraction investments and redeploy the economy with solar, wind, and nuclear. Likelihood? I don’t know. Let’s start talking about it. Time for slow change is gone.
12
@tom Oysters, scallops, corals, conch, bees you name it. This isn’t a canary in a coal mine, it is the whole chorus, silenced!
18
That final oyster will make somebody really rich.
1
Where man goes, extinction follows.
83
NYT just had an article about the collapse of the scallop fishing on the East Coast. There was an article about the decline of the lobster harvest in Maine (lobster are moving out of the warming water). And now an article about the Gulf oysters and their problems. Anybody besides me seeing a pattern here?
101
@sjs Still a lot of heads buried in the sand box.
10
Come on down to the Iveragh peninsula in Ireland! Known as the Ring of Kerry, the oysters (and mussels and more...) are out of this world!
(And I grew up near Chesapeake Bay, so I know what I’m talking about!)
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The oysters there are stunningly delicious.
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@Susan Baughman
SHHHH!!!! Don't tell anyone. The Japanese, Russians, and Chinese, and Spanish and Portuguese will be there overfishing the area in no time. They long ago overfished their own waters and they won't stop until there's nothing left to eat in the oceans.
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Slainte. Hopefully our Gulf Stream doesn’t spoil any of it ;-)
But y’all keep voting deregulation & don’t believe in climate change. Find a food that’s abundant and thriving. Make it a new “tradition.” We love the big easy so we’ll go along with where you go culinary wise.
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@Machiavelli .....until the Big Easy becomes part of the Gulf of Mexico.
2
The current Republican view seems to consider the earth to be some sort of magical truck stop restroom—one that never gets dirty or needs cleaning or maintenance—no matter how many people use and abuse it.
Short-term profits are going to mean enormous long-term clean up costs. Guess who’s going to pay for the cleanup? Sure isn’t going to be the one-percenters.
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@scott wilson There will never be a "cleanup."
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Florida DEP issued a notice of intent to allow exploratory drilling in Apalachicola River basin - so much for no oil drilling off the Florida coast.
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@jw
As long as it doesn't affect Mar-a-Lago, no problem, right?
This story follows on a November 7 New York Times piece about the failure of the scallop harvest in Peconic Bay on Long Island and a November 7 story by the Associated Press about a 40% drop in this year's lobster harvest off the coast of Maine. The scary omens about marine life just keep accumulating.
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@Jamakaya
A link to the NYT article on scallop harvest failure below.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/nyregion/peconic-bay-scallop-season.html
A link to the article about 3 billion less birds in North America since 1970 below.
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/19/762090471/north-america-has-lost-3-billion-birds-scientists-say
A link to an article about the severe decline and possible extinction of insects below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeting-insect-numbers-threaten-collapse-of-nature
All scary omens of the planet's ecosystem on the verge of collapse.
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@Jamakaya I agree, but omens portend the future and these body counts are happening in real time! The Omens in my mind suggest the Great Dying will/is happening until we can leash the Military Industrial Beast. What We do to the Planet, We do to Ourselves.
6
People will keep voting Republican and marvel at environmental disasters caused by human greed. Once the last gulf oyster is shucked those same people will ask why the Gov’t let it happen.
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@Upstate Guy The people vote for the government, so we are all to blame. We all bear the responsibility for this.
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Indeed. They’ll blame the flooding of their homes and the destruction of the environment on liberal elites and the government in Washington.
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@Upstate Guy The Global scientific consensus is that we are heading for numerous environmental disasters of this type from climate change. It is true that the right bears most of the responsibility for inaction to avert the crisis (from Reagan removing the solar panels Carter had installed to Trump spreading doubt in his endless tweets that it is a hoax) but a study was just released that shows only 17% of the US population understands that there is a scientific consensus that climate change will be disastrous if we do not act now.
Companies like Exxon coupled with their republican enablers have been very effective at spreading misinformation. It is literally a matter of survival that we as a nation and planet accept the reality of our predicament and act immediately.
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What? No mention of Felix’s Oyster Bat?
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@WesTex I meant Felix's Oyster BAR. (Not "bat".)
Fat fingers on the keyboard.
1
Oh, well. The three states listed as most affected ( AL, MS, LA) are a month the reddest in the nation. You reap what you vote.
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@Laura
In November 7th, the Times ran an article about scallops off Long Island and lobster harvests in New England.
This isn't a Southern or red state problem. It's an American problem and a humanity problem.
Let's try to be nice and work together and point our fingers toward ourselves before we seek external blame.
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@ML: I completely agree. This is not political. It requires environmental management and restrictions on when crustaceans should be harvested.
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@MVT2216 The disruptions are certainly not limited to the Gulf states or any Republican-dominated state. That said, it is political because the GOP has made the undoing of scientifically-informed management and government regulation in general a centerpiece of their party platform for going on two generations now. Pointing the accusatory finger at government agencies trying to do their job for the good of all--including in this case the oyster producers and the oyster-loving public--is the only way they can get elected. Nothing will change for the better until people stop voting Republican.
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Didn't I read this article a few days ago? Oh wait, that was about the lack of scallops in Peconic Bay due to rising water temperatures. There seems to be a pattern developing.
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If it's any consolation, long after we have killed off the environment that sustains us and we have shuffled off this mortal coil, oysters and other life on the planet will rebound. We are only killing ourselves.
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A whole ecosystem is altered and we are concerned about not having enough raw oysters to eat..
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@JH
The point, to me, is that these bivalves are the canary in the coal mine. Its's really interesting because at one point NYC and then LI were the leading oyster producers in the world. That ecosystem was despoiled and now we're watching it happen again! So much for learning from our mistakes.
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@JH
I suspect that this article and others recently reported are addressing the ecosystem, but in terms that most people can relate to.
1
New England beware. Consider long term strategies while assessing coastal development.
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And the Peconic Bay scallops all died off before harvest this year.
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@Alexandra Hamilton
These Bivalves are not only a buffer in terms of water quality issues, they are the quintessential canary in the coal mine. The state of Gulf oysters, Peconic scallops, NY clams should all be all serve a very clear message to us about our watersheds. When these guys go, our water quality is poor about to get worse.
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Perhaps the geniuses at the Harvard School of Geoengineering will advise Aramco to ship tankers full of salt from Saudi desalination plants to the Gulf.
That would surely boost their sagging valuation and give their starving investment bankers a tasty treat to look forward to.
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Unfortunately this the reaping of what they have sown. Trump’s EPA will simply ignore the facts and continue to declare fake news
Is this REALLY happening. Bon appetite.
22
From New Orleans to Panama City Beach, I have enjoyed the delicious oysters from the Gulf. It is sad to hear that this fishery is also in peril like the Maine shrimp fishery or the once thriving cod fishery. Lessons from past fishery crashes teach us that the complex ecosystems supporting these magnificent creatures does not always recover. The Gulf environment is under so much environmental pressure from gas and oil production, the petrochemical refineries and fertilizer run off from the Mississippi that it's amazing that we even have oyster, shrimp and crab fisheries in the region. It is not sustainable and as a society we are going to have to ask some tough questions about our behavior and how it drives negative impacts on the planet.
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So why on earth is the GOP fighting the Chesapeake Bay restoration funding ? Just ignorance or something else ?
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@Joseph Corcoran good point. I wonder if it has anything to do with the gas and oil companies discharging "treated" water from the gas fracking regions in PA to the Susquehanna (headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay)?
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@Joseph Corcoran
Based on what they do, I'd say it's a combination of ignorance AND something else, like greed, short-sightedness, corruptions, etc. (take your pick)
4
Unfortunately we need environmental disasters in rural and deep red areas to shift the voting base towards more environmentally protective legislation and action. This needs to return to being a genuinely bipartisan issue if anything is to be done. The great victory of industry was convincing rural voters that these were liberal issues. They are not, they are global and voters need a shock to their wallets or people like Trump and the current GOP will continue to dismantle the EPA and destroy our future.
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@Alexandra Hamilton
You would think that this would be the sentiment of the people who depend on the seafood industry after the BP catastrophe at deep water horizon. Sadly, I don't believe that is the case. I agree 100% with the idea that big industry has promoted the idea that environmentalism is a liberal issue. They sold it and many people bought it.
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@Alexandra Hamilton You don't need environmental disasters to bring people together about the environment. You need 1). mutual respect and 2). an understanding from the office class that government environmental policy affects the livelihood of farmers and fisherman much more than it does a teacher, lawyer, or Wall Street executive. Asking fisherman's family to starve today so your grand kids can eat scallops and oysters in 30 years is a HUGE ask. You can't blame them for skepticism if they don't get a half-decent return.
And don't forget politicians and pop culture have done their own part to put a wedge between the the working class and the office class. (As much so as any industrial campaign) During the New Deal farmers and laborers were treated as the life-blood of America. Now they're depicted as failures, welfare-kings, and simpletons getting in the way of a progressive America that aims for Mars but forgets it still needs to eat.
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@Doc
Over fishing a resource won't help anyone, just as past farm practice harmed those who farmed (remember the Dustbowl of the 30s?). Food prices and food availability affect all of us. Doesn't personally bother me if oysters are expensive because i'm severely allergic to them, but I know it is an important industry. The working class was doing decently well until Reagan started the breaking of the unions and the Supreme Court gave more power to business over ordinary people so that wages have stagnated and the billionaire class has grown beyond belief. Oligarchs rule in every country now and they seem to think they can avoid reality as they not only allow but push the rest of the civilization to fall apart.
13
I just recommended a couple of oyster bars in New Orleans to a friend who is visiting for the first time. It may seem inconsequential in a world that has very large and devastating problems, but it breaks my heart a little. I lived in New Orleans for 2 years before Katrina blew me up to Atlanta. I would have stayed forever.
It's not just a food, it's woven into the very fabric and history of the region.
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It is far from inconsequential because it is an aspect of those huge global problems that is on a scale humans can grasp. It will be small but important things like the absence of oysters or seasonal Bay scallops that change the hearts and minds of the ordinary voters and hopefully push them to demand action on pollution and climate.
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@Alexandra Hamilton I'm not going to hold my breath. We have been destroying our environment for a very long time and most Americans find a way to rationalize it.
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I've heard several people in and from New Orleans who said don't drink the local public water, due to chemicals coming down the river. With the river so big, and so many chemicals coming down, I've never understood why the same people want seafood from the place that same river empties into the gulf. I do like gulf seafood, but I'd want it from farther away from Louisiana.
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My wife and I ate at Tableau last month (next to St. Louis Cathedral) and the oysters were from your home state - Alabama. Looks like, as the article says, restaurants are getting them where they can.
9
Virginia and Maryland are exporting oysters to Louisiana now . 30 years ago it was the opposite .
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@Frank
I have avoided seafood from the northern Gulf of Mexico since 2010 and the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Between the oil and the "dispersants", we pretty much poisoned the northern third of the Gulf. The shrimp and oysters that came out of the water after that were gross. When there were any at all.
15