February 6, 2013 — 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."
Read the full story at the New Orleans Times-Picayune