Oyster business

A pile of oysters sits on the deck of the vessel Royster in Pass Christian, Miss. The state estimates nearly 400,000 sacks of oysters across surveyed reefs in the Mississippi Sound ahead of the 2026-27 season.

PASS CHRISTIAN — Mississippi’s oyster reefs are showing signs of growth ahead of the 2026-27 season, but for fishermen like James Miller, rebuilding the industry also means finding enough buyers to make getting on the water worthwhile.

“We’ve just got to get our market moving again,” Miller said. “It’s going to happen. It will take time.”

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