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Aug 31, 2023Hundreds take shelter from the summer sun at the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion groundbreaking ceremony south of Belle Chasse, Louisiana on Thursday, August 10, 2023. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
I loved growing up in Plaquemines Parish, just being a kid on the boat with my dad. Areas that seem so close today felt like the end of the world back then — it was exciting. After graduating from Loyola University, I was accepted into their law program but decided to take a year off. Ten years later, I am proud to be a fifth-generation oyster farmer and have never looked back. I am fortunate to be able to do what I love while supporting my family and my community.
As a state, we are blessed to have this incredible natural resource in our backyard, yet rather than finding ways to protect the resource and build land, the state is moving forward with a project that will ultimately change the entire ecosystem in the Barataria Basin.
Living and working off our coast, we know better than anyone the importance of coastal restoration because as Louisiana loses up to 32 square miles of land every year, we are literally watching our homes wash away under our feet. While oysters are resilient beings, and Louisiana’s oyster industry has taken its licks from mother nature and other man-made disasters in the past, this project of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Agency by far represents the biggest threat yet to our way of life.
Fifty years from now, the state will have spent billions of dollars to create just 21 square miles of land. However, the true cost will be even greater because it will impact more than oysters. It will have caused irreparable damage to all marine life currently thriving in the estuary.
The fishermen who work for me are like my brothers. The oyster industry is something we can’t just walk away from; it’s in our blood. My hope for the industry and our community is that Barataria Basin continues to be prosperous for generations. With the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, it is hard to see how that can happen.
MATTHEW SLAVICH
Empire
MATTHEW SLAVICH