The Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) has long been a key part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, supporting commercial harvesters, local economies, and the region's seafood culture. In recent years, Mississippi's natural oyster reefs have faced a range of challenges that have reduces overall productivity and created long-term management needs. These shifts highlighted the importance of restoration work and support for the communities.
As part of its restoration and management strategy, MDMR developed the Off-Bottom Oyster Aquaculture (OBOA) Program to support industry diversification and provide training for growers interested in aquaculture. The program is designed to balance the agency's ongoing work on natural reefs, offering an additional pathway for harvesters and new entrants to participate in oyster production.
The OBOA Program is structured as a two-phase training and development initiative designed to cultivate new oyster farmers. Phase One introduces participants to the principles of oyster biology, water quality monitoring, aquaculture gear setup, farming techniques, and site management through a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on field demonstrations. Phase Two expands on these technical skills. Program participants are loaned off-bottom aquaculture equipment such as floating cages and mesh bags and are provided with approximately 10,000 oyster seed to manage throughout the training cycle within a designated grow-out area. Phase Two also emphasizes business development, marketing, safe harvesting practices, and regulatory compliance. Upon completion, graduates are permitted to harvest their oysters and are eligible to apply to sublease up to two one-acre plots within the state's designated aquaculture park for commercial production.
The first commercial aquaculture operations began in 2018, when MDMR subleased 27 acres to 14 program graduates within the Deer Island Aquaculture Park, with the inaugural harvest taking place in April 2019. The early success of the program prompted expansion of the aquaculture lease area from 27 acres to 466 acres between 2018 and 2021. As of 2025, 31 aquaculture operations collectively manage 59 acres and have produced more than 2.1 million oysters. MDMR is currently in the eighth training cycle of the OBOA Program, with a cumulative total of 94 graduates. These figures demonstrate that off-bottom oyster aquaculture has transitioned from a pilot-scale initiative to an established, income-generating component of Mississippi's seafood economy.