The location-The Sea Pearl is located at Cousins' Oyster Dock in Empire, a commerical oyster dock, where boats unload their day's catch of oysters and tie up to their slips in preparation for the next day's trip. Empire is home to one of the largest shrimp and oyster fishing communities in the United States. Shrimp trawlers and oyster luggers often work just minutes from the dock. Commercial fishermen, many of them with roots from Vietnam and Croatia as well as Creoles and Cajuns, work in harmony with each other as they harvest their catch under often difficult circumstances.
The devastation of Hurricane Katrina is still very evident in Empire. When the hurricane blew ashore, most of the town was obliterated along with hundreds of boats that were left sunk or washed ashore. Fishermen returned as soon as the flooding subsided, beginning the massive clean-up and repair so they could get back to thier livelihoods. Today, Empire is back to being a major seafood landing hub.
The owners-The Sea Pearl is family owned and operated by brother-in-laws John Tesvich and Luke Cibilich, also co-owners of an oyster business based in Empire, LA that produces and buys high quality oysters for wholesale to distributors. John and Luke's knowledge of the waterways and commercial fishing is extensive since both have spent many years running thier oyster boats and fishing oysters from the productive oyster reefs of the Mississippi River Delta. The Tesvich and Cibilich families are part of the Croatian oyster fishing community whose forefathers started developing the oyster industry in the second half of the 1800's. Croatians, mostly from the coastal region of Dalmatia, still make up a large portion of oyster fishermen on the Delta. Luke was born in Croatia and John is first generation, so Croatian culture and language are still an important part of their lives.
Custom Cruises
(504) 912-7545 