JEDCO Reveals Grand Isle Jewels Off-Bottom Oyster Brand

Umbrella brand launches local seafood innovators to national market

To download pictures and video, click here. No courtesy required.

GRAND ISLE, La. – The Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO) joins all Grand Isle off-bottom oyster farmers, Louisiana Economic Development, Louisiana Sea Grant, the Grand Isle Port Commission and the Town of Grand Isle to announce the launch of “Grand Isle Jewel Off-Bottom Oysters,” an original brand campaign marketing regionally-sourced boutique oysters as a unique seafood product. The campaign promotes the first-ever regional umbrella brand uniting Grand Isle products of innovative off-bottom oyster cultivation, which was born in Grand Isle and has been adopted as a sustainable aquaculture practice across the U.S. Gulf Coast and Eastern seaboard, as well as in Canada, Australia and parts of Europe.

The campaign is the result of the Jefferson EDGE, Jefferson Parish’s long-term economic development strategic plan, which prioritizes sustainability and resilience in the regional seafood industry. JEDCO was recently awarded a $140,000 grant by Louisiana Economic Development (LED) to create a variety of programs that assist the seafood industry, including the development of the Jewel oyster brand.

“The Grand Isle Jewels branding initiative touches on every aspect of JEDCO’s mission,” said JEDCO President and CEO Jerry Bologna. “Not only does this project celebrate and elevate a premium product born in Grand Isle, but it also reinvigorates and adds weight to the innovative work being done to support and protect the Jefferson Parish seafood industry. We are proud to take a creative approach to expand the market for local oysters, especially amid a renewed focus on domestic goods. We are committed to the Grand Isle Jewels brand, the people of Grand Isle and the sustainable techniques that will allow more people to connect with and enjoy Louisiana oysters for many years to come.”

Louisiana’s seafood industry produces up to 45% of the nation’s oysters and is important to the state’s culture, ecology and economy. The industry has an annual economic impact of $2.4 billion, and one out of every 70 jobs in the state is connected to Louisiana seafood. Despite its importance, the industry is in a precarious position, due to decades of stagnant wages, lack of access to capital, competition with cheap foreign imports and repeated blows in recent years from hurricanes, the BP oil spill, freshwater intrusion and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our seafood industry has a long and storied history in Jefferson Parish, and it is important that we protect it,” said Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng. “This brand is born out of the hardships that have plagued our industry over the years and the resilience that our oyster farmers have shown to overcome them. The Grand Isle Jewels brand truly captures Jefferson Parish’s vibrant culinary culture, entrepreneurial spirit and unparalleled seafood product. We commend JEDCO and the many partners who have worked tirelessly to bring this brand to life.”

In Grand Isle, the oyster industry thrived for over 150 years, until the 1980s, when production began to steadily decline. Today, oyster production in Grand Isle is relatively scarce. In just the last five years, Grand Isle’s off-bottom farming technique has gained traction locally, growing hardy, caged oyster ‘seeds’ just below the water’s surface in aquaparks selected for optimal temperature, water flow and salinity. The technique was a critical adaptation after Hurricane Ida scoured most of the remaining wild oyster habitat from the barrier island in 2021 and is seen as a prime opportunity to compliment Louisiana’s traditional oyster industry with a boutique product.

“There’s nowhere in the world better suited to grow oysters than Grand Isle, where the sea kisses the estuary,” said Albert ‘Buzzy’ Besson, who farms the Barataria Beauties brand of Jewel oysters. “That’s why oysters were such a big deal here when my grandfather farmed traditional Grand Isle oysters back in the ‘50s. Years later, in the ‘80s, I would watch caravans of 18 wheelers loaded down with sacks of our oysters, heading inland. But the sea floor has changed, and we can’t grow oysters here the same way my grandfather did. Finding this new way to bring oyster farming back to Grand Isle and deliver these delicious Jewels, makes me very proud.”

All varieties can be eaten year-round, including some Jewel oysters bred to stay plump and salty, even in the summer months. Off-bottom oysters also grow faster and hold the potential for a second growing season. The off-bottom growing technique has become so popular in recent years that there is a waiting list for permits. The Grand Isle Port Commission aims to double the size of available leases in the very near future, which will expand growing capabilities for new and existing farms.

“As the birthplace of the off-bottom oyster farming technique, Grand Isle is positioned to become a leader in the industry,” said Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle. “We are excited to bring oyster production back to Grand Isle in a way that complements – not competes – with the traditional oyster industry. This is a true win for our community.”

Many Jewel oysters are spawned in Grand Isle at Louisiana Sea Grant’s operation at the Michael C. Voisin Oyster Hatchery, a public lab producing hundreds of millions of ready-to-grow larvae annually, which become seed oysters used primarily for research and habitat conservation. The seeds can also be used for commercial production when privately-owned hatcheries aren’t able to deliver enough seed to oyster farmers. The hatchery lab also produces its own microalgae, the primary food source for oyster larvae. The hatchery has proven to be essential for the success of Grand Isle farmers in time of oyster seed needs.

“We are proud of our decades-long efforts to revive the Grand Isle oyster industry,” said Louisiana Sea Grant Scholar Earl J. Melancon. “Our role became especially important in the wake of Hurricane Ida by us administering grant funds to farmers and the Grand Isle Aquatic Park. The grants allowed farmers and the Grand Isle Port Commission to reestablish their destroyed oyster farms after Ida. Those funds to Sea Grant were provided by the Governor’s Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). We support all efforts being made to help our off-bottom oyster farmers become established as a new type of fishery within Louisiana’s 200-hundred-year-old traditional oyster industry that is nationally and globally recognized. We know off-bottom farming can thrive here in Grand Isle and become part of that rich Louisiana oyster history.”

Soon, the Grand Isle Port Commission will open an oyster processing facility near the Bayou Barataria aquapark, completing the infrastructure necessary to produce all Grand Isle Jewel oysters on the island, from seed to sale.

“We really owe a lot of our success today to Mr. Jules Melancon, a multigeneration traditional oyster harvester from Bayou Lafourche who was the first to farm off-bottom oysters in 2012,” said Weldon M. Danos, Executive Director of the Grand Isle Port Commission. “Although he passed away in 2023, Jules is the inspiration for the Jewel name revealed today and a true champion of every farmer whose boutique oysters will bear this name from now on.”

For more information, visit www.grandislejewels.com.

WATCH THE GRAND ISLE JEWEL VIDEO HERE

About Grand Isle Jewels:
The Grand Isle Jewels oyster brand was created through Louisiana Economic Development grant funding awarded to JEDCO to promote off-bottom oyster varieties grown in Grand Isle. The brand’s artwork reflects the barrier island’s landscape as well as its historical connection to pirate activity in the early 19th century. Its name is inspired by multigenerational traditional Louisiana oyster harvester, Jules Melancon, who was the first to farm off-bottom oysters commercially in 2012. Under this umbrella brand, each of the seven Grand Isle off-bottom oyster varieties retain their own unique identity. Similar to the branding of regional wines, this specific type of boutique seafood product is easily recognizable: If it’s a Jewel, it’s a Grand Isle off-bottom oyster. The campaign also serves as a model to unite more small businesses producing regionally sourced Louisiana products. For more information, visit www.grandislejewels.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at @grandislejewels.