One of America’s Largest Oyster Processors Ceases Operations
Sorting fresh Louisiana oysters from the Gulf of Mexico at AmeriPure Oysters, Franklin, La.
Fourth generation Louisiana oysterman John Tesvich is ceasing operations at his Franklin, La., oyster processing company, AmeriPure Oysters, due to sharply declining supplies of fresh oysters caused by the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
AmeriPure is one of America’s largest suppliers of half-shell Gulf oysters to grocery store chains and restaurants across America. But operations are stopping, and the company is laying off its 60 workers.
John Tesvich, President/CEO/Co-Founder, AmeriPure Oysters
Tesvich and his business partner Pat Fahey hope the closure is only temporary, that oyster supplies may resume in parts of the Gulf by the fourth quarter of this year. In all reality, they really don’t have any idea what’s going to happen as oil spreads across the Gulf.
“Nothing is more insidious than this oil spill,” Tesvich says. “This thing keeps spewing oil, and nothing can be done about it.”
Oysters thrive in the brackish wetlands of the Mississippi delta in areas such as Louisiana’s Barataria Bay. The state of Louisiana leases 400,000 acres of water bottom to commercial oyster suppliers who use mainly mechanical dredging to pull up the catch. Louisiana supplies were already down as a result of low rainfall, which increased the salinity of wetland waters.
Pat Fahey, COO/Co-Founder, AmeriPure Oysters
In recent weeks … as supplies of fresh oysters have dwindled … AmeriPure reduced shifts of workers from five to three days a week. Now, there are not enough oysters to keep operating.
The company normally ships eight million pounds of oysters a year, about 160,000 pounds of oysters a week. They process raw oysters so that they are totally safe to eat, using a special pasteurization process.
The company’s customers are not happy about the reduced supply, Fahey says, acknowledging that customers are already seeking fresh oysters from other regions of the U.S. and from abroad to fill the void.
“I cannot even begin to calculate the cost in lost customers,” Fahey says. But, the company has had no other choice.
BP has offered to pay to keep offices open, according to Tesvich, but not to pay workers in the processing plant. The company has yet to receive any compensation from the oil giant.
Category: Seafood Industry
How do I get in touch with Latoya Wilson a former employee of Ameripure Oyster House? Saw her story on the evening news in Houston.
What a joke! Pay to keep offices open, but not pay employees? I say collect all the dead oysters, other animals & waste from this catastrophe on the “A Whale” & other ships & dump on the doorsteps of every BP office in the US & around the world!
What a helpless feeling. I am sorry.
If you would like to help, please go to our website. We have set up a fund to help all the employees. Just click the Ameripure Employee Relief Fund at the top of the page. Thanks for your help from all of us.