Interviewer(s): T. McGuire. New Orleans, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Captain Pete Vujnovich (pronounced "vianovich") operates Capt. Pete's Oysters on Rampart Street, bordering the French Quarter. Kerry St. Pé had mentioned that Capt. Pete was getting frail and needed to be interviewed. Capt. Pete's son Pete in on the BTNEP Management Conference although the name I dropped in setting up the interview was Wilbert Collins from Golden Meadow. Our conversation ranged broadly over oyster farming, lawsuits against oil companies, saltwater intrusion, his efforts to get legislation passed (lost by 5 votes) to allow limited gillnetting of black drum, a predator on oysters, and his family history. Capt. Pete was somewhat frustrated in not being able to give some specifics to some of my questions, and offered to go into his attic and look for materials.

Capt. Pete Vujnovich came to Port Sulphur from Croatia at age 8. He and Buddy Pausina, owner of Barataria Restaurant on Harrison Street, are the two "oldtimers" left in the oyster industry. The "shed" (begun in 1951) is modest: a few reefer trucks, an oyster-shucking table with about 4 positions and 3 workers there shucking oysters. Capt. Pete works with his wife and his son Tony, washing shucked oysters and putting them in plastic containers. The operation is too small to go into the French Quarter restaurant trade. To do that, he would have to buy oysters from others, without knowing for sure where they're coming from. Capt. Pete was once offered a million dollars to built a boat and work for oil companies, but his eyes were bad, so he wouldn't have been able to run night and day. Anyway, he just wanted to stay in the oyster business.