Dozens of oyster bed tenants have had their leases canceled due to failure to pay rent.
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the statute states: “As per Louisiana Revised Statute 56:429, any lessee who pays their rent on or after the first day of February owes the rent due plus an additional 10 percent penalty,” according to a department statement. “If the lessee fails to pay the rent punctually before the first of each March, LDWF is required by law to terminate and cancel the lease, and the lessee forfeits to the department all the works, improvements, betterments and oysters on the water bottom.”
LDWF says they canceled 44 leases amounting to 1,021 acres of seabed across St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Terrebonne, and Lafourche parishes.
According to published sources, the number of cancelations is very high.
Usually only 8-to-10 leases are canceled in a year with more than 500 leases being renewed.
But this year, roughly 1,500 leases came up for renewal.
That is three times their normal number of leases up for renewal.
A number of those leases canceled were also delinquent in paying their rent.
Water bottoms and oysters are owned by the state and leased out to oyster harvesters.
LDWF says between them, the Louisiana Office of State Lands, and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority there are more than 400,000 acres currently leased out.
State law allows for the bottoms to be leased out and it is the exclusive right of the leaseholder to harvest their tract of the bottom.
