Grand Isle was once booming with oyster production, but the industry fell off as environmental events both natural and man-made moved oyster farming elsewhere. In recent years, a multi-organization initiative to raise oyster beds off the bottom of the Gulf has opened up a new oyster boom with much more in store.
Grand Isle Jewels is the name of a coalition of seven oyster farm brands who have come together to create off-bottom oyster farms around Grand Isle, seeking out salt water that's at the perfect height to manually clean the cages the oysters grow in. Grand Isle Jewels brand of boutique oysters was assisted by funding from the Economic Development Administration and Louisiana Economic Development secured by the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission.
Certain areas with the most suitable waters for off-bottom farming have been scoured by recent hurricanes. However, that won't stop the innovation of Grand Isle Jewels. "Just as these oyster farmers innovated this technique of oyster farming, they're now taking barges and flipping them upside down, building submerged platforms so that they can farm," said Jennifer Crockett of The Ehrhardt Group.
Still to come, an oyster processing plant is in the works so that the oyster industry in Grand Isle will be from seed to sale, providing an economic boost to the area and keeping Louisiana's seafood industry dollars in the state. Bright Side Oyster Co., one of the seven businesses in the brand, provided 180,000 oysters to New Orleans area restaurants in 2024, selling for about $1 an oyster.
It will be exciting to see how the growing off-bottom Louisiana oyster industry grows in Grand Isle. You can keep up with the Grand Isle Jewels on their Instagram page @grandislejewels.
