The Louisiana Oyster Industry Convention will be held on Feb. 5 at the Hilton-New Orleans Airport, 901 Airline Drive, Kenner, La. 
                   The convention is the annual forum to bring the Louisiana oyster industry and its trade associations together to discuss important issues, to make business contacts and to socialize. Registration is $50 before Feb. 1 and $100 at the door. Registration includes seminars, a luncheon and a cocktail party (cash bar). To register or for more information, contact John Supan at  jsupan@lsu.edu or 985-264-3239.
                   This year’s agenda will feature a thorough review of the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the oyster industry. Billy Nungesser, Plaquemine Parish president, will be the luncheon speaker . 
                   Other presentations throughout the day include:
                   Water and Oyster Sampling and Results in Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 
                  Gordon LeBlanc,  Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals 
                   Governor’s Oyster Advisory Committee and Coastal Restoration Update 
                  Jerome Zeringue,  Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration 
                  Oil, River Diversions, Estuaries and Fisheries
                  Earl Melancon, Ph.D.,  Nicholls State University 
                  Chemistry of the Oil Spill: Implications Concerning Impacts 
                  Ed Overton, Ph.D.,  LSU Department of Environmental Sciences 
                  Bioremediation as an Oil Spill Response 
                  R alph Portier, Ph.D.,  LSU Department of Environmental Sciences 
                  The Gulf Coast Claims Process 
                  K rista Friedricks,  Feinberg Rozen LLC 
                    The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A Legal Viewpoint 
                  Phillip Cossich, Cossich , Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor, LLC 
                  Alaskan Seafood Marketing Challenges Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 
                  Kevin Adams,  Alaskan Seafood Marketing Institute 
                  Update on Oyster Season and Spatfall East of the Mississippi River 
                  Patrick Banks,  Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries 
                    Oyster Crop Insurance & Risk Management 
                  Clif Parker, Custom Ag. Solutions Inc. 
                  Economic Analysis of Oyster Seed Bedding in Louisiana: A Survey 
                  Victoria Ippolito,  Louisiana Sea Grant College Program-LSU 
                  The convention is sponsored by the Oyster Development Fund of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force, Louisiana Farm Bureau, J & M Industries & Berry Plastics, the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, the Louisiana Oyster Dealers & Growers Association and the LSU Agricultural Center. Oysters will be served several different ways during the luncheon and cocktail party, making the convention the best oyster feast of the year.