Grand Isle Sea Farm is a family operation raising oysters and crawfish in the bayou
AThe Guerrero family has always been a farming family. Before immigrating to the US in 2001, Marcos Guerrero was a third-generation farmer in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where he grew sugar cane and other crops. After arriving here, he and his son, Boris, were looking for farming opportunities near where they live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, preferably something they could grow using organic methods. An ad in a local newspaper gave them the answer—it mentioned a shellfish hatchery being rebuilt on Grand Isle around 2013 and that the state had just opened up areas around Grand Isle for oyster aquaculture.
“We had zero knowledge of oyster farming,” Boris says with a laugh. But the family was determined. They went to Grand Isle to meet with the Michael C. Voisin Oyster Hatchery, which is run by Louisiana Sea Grant and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The team there was instrumental in giving the Guerreros an understanding of how to get started. They applied for a lease and were soon researching the many types of equipment and farming methods that might work for their waterway.
After getting things off the ground, Boris and Marcos secured a grant through the nonprofit Oyster South, whose “Peer to Pier” program provided funds for them to travel to an oyster farm in Canada. “You learn a lot from different farmers, even in another country,” Boris says. “You pick up little details that you can bring back. It doesn’t have to be a big change, but something small that you pick up from another farmer can change the whole game for you to grow your own.”
Today, the Guerreros harvest oysters a few miles from Grand Isle, in an inlet where the cages are well-protected from rough surf. They work closely with the hatchery on Grand Isle; this fall, they’ve been collaborating on a research project to help track shellfish mortality rates. And the family still lives in Baton Rouge, so their facilities on the island are limited to an open-air garage where they store their equipment and process the oysters. Closer to home, they also run a crawfish farm, giving them multiple income streams. Boris’ wife, Elina, supports the farm on the back end as well.
Weather and especially major hurricanes are always a threat to the farm—they recently relocated to a new lease due to the changing waterways right around Grand Isle. But next year, Grand Isle Sea Farms will celebrate 10 years in business, and the Guerreros only see bright things ahead. “We can’t keep adding chemicals to our land and our water. This is a natural way of farming, where we’re not adding anything harmful,” Boris says. “Farming this way, this is the future.”
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Erin Byers Murray
Erin Byers Murray has been digging into stories about food and wine for more than twenty years. Based in Nashville, she is the editor-in-chief of The Local Palate and has authored or co-authored half a dozen books, including deep dives into oysters and grits, as well as several cookbooks. Her work has been published in multiple publications, including Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, the Boston Globe, and three editions of Best Food Writing.