GALVESTON, Texas – You can eat oysters cooked or raw, and many consider them a delicacy. But they're at the center of a controversy in Galveston County.
Oyster fisherman like Raz Alili say they're in the fight for their lives being told they're not allowed to fish for oysters in Galveston Bay in water they say the state grants them license to do so.
"We're trying to save the oysters," said Alili. "They're preventing us from protecting our investment."
The 'they' to whom he's referring is Sustainable Texas Oyster Resource Management, or STORM.
"We have permission from the landowner to plant rock, to build reefs and grow oysters on the bottom," said Tracy Woody, president of STORM.
That's where things get tricky. At issue are 23,000 acres of land at the bottom of the bay.
Technically, the Chambers Liberty County Navigation District owns the land. Last year, it leased the land to STORM, which said it plans to build new reefs to hopefully grow more oysters.
To that, oyster farms say they're getting a raw deal. Both sides went at it as our cameras roll.
"We put $3 million into that land and now you want to steal it for $1.50 an acre?" Alili said to Woody.
"I'm not stealing anything. Did you get permission?" replied Woody.
"Yes we did from the Texas Department of Wildlife just like you did for your leases," Alili said.
The fight has taken a turn. Oyster farmers also said they're being harassed by STORM. They say STORM'S big boats come close and record them as they move oysters to saltier waters, because recent flooding dumped too much fresh water into the bay.
STORM said they're recording because farmers are stealing oysters and planting them elsewhere.
"We're not exhibiting any violence. We're not threatening anyone. We don't plan to," said Woody.
In the end, it all comes down to who owns what and that's murky. Oyster farmers are calling on the state to step in and cancel a lease they said is baseless and illegal.
"My hope is they can do something at the end of the day and they can challenge them in a court of law and get this lease revoked," said Alili.
Both sides are gathering evidence against one another so that hopefully they said the courts can decide who is right.