In the Field

Why Does Oyster Farming Matter?

By: The Local Palate

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Rarely does a person sit down to a platter of oysters all by themselves. They are meant to be shared, whether plucked from the ice, raw, to be eaten in one briny bite or at an oyster roast, pried open and drizzled with hot sauce. Oyster bars are convivial, communal places where shuckers are the maestro, guiding you through a symphony of flavors. And in their own habitat, oysters naturally grow in community, setting and surviving only with the help of one another.

But oysters are also mighty architectural creatures and exist as essential building blocks to our coastal waterways—a key-stone species that our estuaries and marshes cannot endure without. Their physical habitats—either wild or manufactured reefs—provide protection and stability, ensuring that any harm done to our precious coastal areas by humans or weather can be alleviated.

And they build community—when reefs flourish, other sea creatures arrive, creating a robust underwater ecosystem. Here in the South, oysters have been baked deeply into our culture and economy. Regardless of how you feel about eating oysters—we admit they can be a “love it or a hate it” type of food—understanding their importance is vital to preserving the future of our waterways. Oysters are good for the environment, they’re good for people and the economy, and they’re good for our coastal and foodway communities.

That’s why we’re sharing all that we know and love about Southern oysters— from why they matter to some of the many people who are harvesting or farming them; from how to shuck and taste them to how best to pair them with a drink. Consider this your Southern Oysters 101 and then some.

To go along with it, in partnership with the nonprofit Oyster South, we’ve created a documentary series on the world of Southern oysters. In it, we visit three regions from Virginia down to Louisiana sharing the stories and connections being made in the Southern oystering community.

Oyster Farming Practices Matter

Vital inhabitants of coastal environments, oysters are a “keystone species”—meaning they are critical to the stability of their ecosystem—and bring a bounty of ecological benefits to the table. As they feed, adult oysters filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, improving water quality. That filter function also increases water clarity, helping seagrasses and other underwater vegetation thrive.

Oyster reefs boost biodiversity by creating habitats for a range of aquatic species and can reduce coastal erosion. And oysters are food for other animals, including seabirds and various crustaceans. But in both the Gulf and Southern Atlantic waters, wild oyster populations face challenges. Pollution from runoff and other sources poisons oysters. Overharvesting and dredging methods have damaged oyster reefs—in fact, as much as 85 percent of the world’s oyster reefs are now gone due to those factors as well as habitat loss and disease.

Salinity fluctuations brought on by climate change and weather impacts like draughts and hurricanes, plus man-made river diversions and water usage, slow oyster spawning and increase the number of predators, like the oyster drill. As researchers and organizations around our region search for solutions to wild oyster decline, sustainable oyster aquaculture (more often called oyster farming) cultivates hope alongside oyster “crops.”

Since oyster farming began in the South in the early 2000s, the number of farms has steadily increased. There are now oyster farms in every Southern state, meaning more oysters in our waters. (In Alabama alone, there were no oyster farms in 2009 and now there are 18.) And that’s a good thing.

The oysters raised by farmers bring many of the same environmental benefits as wild oysters, and they’re designed to complement, not replace, wild harvests. Even though farmers raise the same species, differences in food sources, water temperatures, and currents (even at different spots in the same bay) influence texture and taste, a concept called merroir (like terroir in wine). Each farmer’s distinct methods enhance their crop’s merroir, giving every farm a distinct oyster. Because farmers control the shape, size, and to some extent taste of their oysters, they deliver a different product than wild harvests, one with a more consistent quality and size, packed in a clean, pretty shell. And by providing more oysters to meet consumer demand, farming removes harvesting pressure from wild reefs. Plus, like more robust wild populations, a growing oyster farming industry means more jobs and a boost for coastal communities’ economies.

Southern Oyster FAQs

Can I eat oysters in months without R in them?
Short answer, yes. That adage came about before there was refrigeration (transporting oysters in hot months is now a norm) and before the oys- ter industry started breeding oysters that don’t spawn since oysters reproduce in warmer months.

Are there still wild oysters and should I eat them?

Yes, but wild oyster reefs have been greatly diminished and are now closely monitored. Those with commercial wild harvest leases are limited in what they can bring in, but you will find them, both in clusters for roasting and steaming and on the half shell in restaurants and quality seafood
markets. Farmed oysters are a reliable alternative and promoting farms and farmed oysters will only improve the lifespan of our remaining wild reefs.

How do I eat an oyster?
If you’re eating it raw on the half shell, do as little to it as possible—a squeeze of lemon, maybe some horse- radish. Cocktail sauce will mask the taste, so go easy. Be sure to take one or two bites before swallowing, which will release the sugars and open up the flavors. For roasted oysters, try them dipped in butter or hot sauce alongside a cold beer.

Off-Bottom Oyster Farming 101

When compared to land-based agriculture, oyster farming is more akin to ranching, working in harmony with Mother Nature. Farmers in Southern waters all raise the same native species: the Eastern oyster. While they control some aspects of their crop, they don’t feed or medicate their oysters. And while every farm does things a bit differently, the basics of off-bottom oyster farming—the method used by the majority of
Southern farms—stay the same.

The process starts with seed, little baby oysters that have been collected from mature oysters after they spawn in facilities called hatcheries. There, they each “set” on their own miniscule bit of oyster shell. This allows farmers to keep the oysters individual, instead of stuck together in clusters as they would be in the wild. Farmers “plant” their seed oysters in coastal bays and inlets, either in baskets strung from lines attached to pilings or in floating cages. Just as they would on wild oyster beds, the oysters pull food from the seawater they filter through their shells.

While the oysters grow, farmers tend to their crop until harvesttime (anywhere from six months to more than a year depending on factors like water temperature). They divide and move their oysters to other baskets or cages as they get bigger to prevent overcrowding. Farmers turn their baskets or cages at different intervals to keep the shells free of barnacles and other pests than can, at worst, harm the oysters and, at best, detract from the shells’ beauty. This manipulation also affects the oysters’ cup size (the depth of the shell), which influences the shape of the meat inside and its texture. Some farms remove the oysters from their baskets and tumble them in a machine to enhance this effect.

While the off-bottom technique helps farmers minimize losses since they can move their oyster baskets or cages lower in the water column to avoid storm surge, major hurricanes remain a risk factor.