The Times-Picayune: Gulf of Mexico seafood industry leader is remembered following sudden death
Benjamin Alexander-Bloch
Mike Voisin, a leader in the Gulf of Mexico seafood industry and one of the strongest national advocates for Louisiana seafood, died Saturday of sudden cardiac death at Terrebonne General Hospital in his hometown of Houma. He was 59.
A seventh-generation Louisiana oysterman, Voisin owned Motivatit Seafoods, one of the country's largest oyster processing companies. And while he eventually stopped focusing on crabs in the late 1990s, his crab plant once was one of the largest in the state, churning out more than 6 million pounds of meat a year.
On Wednesday afternoon, as friends and colleagues traveled to his wake, they spoke about the chasm he has left in the industry that he led for several decades.
His death also prompted U.S. senators and congressmen, on both sides of the aisle, to recount his life and stature.
"During the last 40 years, Mike Voisin has done more for the domestic seafood industry than any other individual, including leading our recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 BP Oil Spill," wrote Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. "Mike had a unique ability to not just listen, but to really hear what people were saying. His patience allowed him to find consensus when it appeared all but impossible."
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, said Voisin "leaves a void in our hospitality industry" and that he "will be sorely missed."
He is one of those people who come along every two or three generations." -- Chris Nelson
The vice chairman of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, Voisin founded the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board in 1984 and sat on the National Seafood Marketing Council when it first was formed in the early 1990s. He has chaired the National Fisheries Institute, the Gulf Coast Seafood Marketing Coalition, the Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation, the Louisiana Fishing Community Recovery Coalition, and the Louisiana Oyster Task Force, just to name a few.
Voisin's family started out in the Louisiana oyster business in the 1700s after receiving land along the coast from the King of France, according to Al Sunseri, whose family has run P&J Oyster Company since 1876 and who was one of Voisin's closest friends.
"I would usually start and end my day talking with Mike," Sunseri said Wednesday. "Not having him to counsel me anymore will be hard. ... It is going to be very hard.''
Another of his closest friends, Chris Nelson, vice president of Alabama's Bon Secour Fisheries, called Voisin's spirit "tireless and irrepressible.
"He is one of those people who come along every two or three generations, someone who is just so big, so important, who accomplishes so much, you just have to put him in a separate category."
Lucian Gunter, the CEO of Acme Oyster House, remembered Voisin as "a gentle giant."
"In his patience, his demeanor, he was always very caring, very knowledgeable," Gunter said. "I thought of him as a friend, I thought of him as a mentor, and I admired him for the passion he had for what he did."
Voisin always was extremely proud of his Gold Band Oysters, a pre-shucked oyster made possible by his father Ernest "Ernie" Voisin's patented high-pressure processing technology that reduced bacteria without affecting taste and texture.
Voisin once declared, "I have oyster liquor running through my veins."
Following the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, he was a major national speaker and advocate for the Gulf seafood community, often calling southern Louisiana's estuaries "American's hidden treasure." And while describing the devastation, he always was optimistic, calling the oil spill a "speed bump in the road."
In addition to his work in the seafood industry, Voisin served in many leadership roles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as Counselor to J. Michael Wall, president of the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission, and as a High Councilman in the New Orleans Louisiana Stake. Previously, he served as Bishop of the Thibodaux congregation.
Survivors include his wife, Sarah Theriot Voisin; three sons, Kevin Voisin, Gregory Voisin, and Terrance Conrad; three daughters, Amy Voisin Ascua, Sally Voisin Gilfour, and Sandy Voisin Naquin; and 14 grandchildren.
Visitation is Wednesday until 9 p.m. at Chauvin Funeral Home, 5899 Louisiana 311 in Houma. Visitation will continue Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Living Word Church, 1916 Louisiana 311 in Schriever, followed by a funeral service. Burial will be in St. Eloi Catholic Church Cemetery.
Condolences can be written on Chauvin Funeral Home website, www.chauvinfuneralhome.com.
On Wednesday, Donald Boesch, a New Orleans native who was a member of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, posted a note on the funeral website expressing his condolences and memories of Voisin.
"Mike was such a terrific friend and ally during my years in Terrebonne starting LUMCON," wrote Boesch, who directed the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium for 10 years, beginning in 1980, and now is the president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies. "He was just a young man then, but wise, reasoned, articulate and capable beyond his years. His calm and caring counsel helped me through many challenges."
No one did more for seafood industry than Mike Voisin. #LA & #Gulf have lost a true champion and trusted friend. twitter.com/SenLandrieu/st…
— Senator Landrieu (@SenLandrieu) February 6, 2013
