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 Meet an N.C. teacher turned oyster farmer Share this page  Send by email Ryan Bethea gave up teaching to become one of North Carolina's oyster farmers, using science to raise award-winning oysters on five acres of estuary he leases from the state. Checking on the oyster crop HARKER'S ISLAND, N.C.... ... See more

Apalachicola oysters made the list of "Vanishing Florida - Take these vacations while you still can"

"The issue is our bay is such a small bay, you know? There's not a lot of room here"

There must be room for all on our public lands.

WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Commercial fisherman and oyster farmers in Wakulla County are working together to find ways both groups can navigate local waters without issue.

More women are joining their male peers among the ranks of oyster farmers. This could be because of growing marine science programs — and a desire to have a hands-on connection with the food system.

Here is another one of the great restoration efforts that is underway in our state.

Excellent video by VISIT FLORIDA on their tour of the Panacea Oysters farm. This is what it is all about folks.

If you're looking for some of the freshest and tastiest oysters around, then check out the Panacea Oyster Co-op. Located in Spring Creek in Wakulla County, t...

What do hockey and oysters have in common? Some students at FGCU have thought of some innovative ways to re-use broken hockey sticks. Check out Rink 2 Reef

http://www.fortmyersbeachtalk.com/page/content.detail/id/633408/FGCU-program-makes-homes-for-mollusks-in-Estero-Bay.html?nav=5051 ... See more

A Florida Gulf Coast University program is hoping to clean the bay, one oyster at a time.

This man thinks he has shucked over a million oysters. How many do you think you have shucked?

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/meet-the-man-whos-shucked-a-million-oysters/Content?oid=8195380

“I took off my carpenter apron and put on a kitchen apron and I’ve had one on ever since.”

Here is a link to the video from Friday's presentation by UF IFAS Shellfish Aquaculture Extension

To address increased interest in oyster aquaculture on Florida’s west coast, an applied research and demonstration project was conducted during 2016-17 to evaluate an oyster breeding process to local conditions. Diploid and triploid oysters were cultured at commercial farms in four counties and at the UF experimental site in Cedar Key, where replicated field trials allowed for documenting effects of several management practices on production. ... See more

Here is a link to OysterTracker.

https://www.oystertracker.com/

Sell more and better oysters. Find out what's working and what's not. OysterTracker helps you manage your farm, improve your harvest, and work more efficiently.

OysterTracker is innovative software to help shellfish farmers better manage operations.

https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/aquaculture/new-system-to-help-shellfish-farmers-launches

OysterTracker, a new software system intended to help shellfish farmers manage their farms, launched in April

A coalition of organizations representing the saltwater recreational fishing and boating community endorsed H.R. 200 and highlighted the importance of incorporating saltwater recreational fishing management provisions into the nation’s primary law governing federal fisheries management. Revisions are made to: (1) requirements for fishery management plans for overfished fisheries; and (2) catch limit requirements, including by authorizing Regional Fishery Management Councils to consider changes in an ecosystem and the economic needs of the fishing communities when establishing the limits. This is a massive step toward better fishery management. ... See more

https://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/pressreleases/seven-shellfish-growers-lead-a-growing-coalition-to-promote-climate-action-a.xml

A big shoutout goes to any growers participating in the Billion Oyster Project! It is our hope that we can take advantage of the tremendous voice and economic influence of this burgeoning industry to provide a tangible example of the value of a healthy environment for other businesses, to enact change and to stave off the negative impact poor air and water quality could have on our livelihoods. ... See more

Will the water wars ever stop?
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/xw73kn/theres-no-clear-end-in-sight-in-the-increasingly-bitter-florida-georgia-water-war

Businesses in Florida and Georgia both rely on the same river basin — which means war.

Kumamotos are considered the "gold standard" but it is refreshing to see that there is space in the market for competition from other growers. It would be great to see some Floridian variety on this list. Which oysters are your favorite?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-04-16/best-oysters-to-follow-kumamotos-nonesuch-peconic-gold-kusshi ... See more

This is the half-dozen you’ll want to order next.

The warm coastal waters of the Southeast US are ideal conditions for oyster culture. Our coastal communities are gradually changing to adopt this new way of life.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/27/462929374/why-the-southeast-could-become-the-napa-valley-of-oysters ... See more

University of Georgia graduate student Shannon Kirk is studying methods to control bio-fouling, which involve spraying the cages/gear with a coating to deter organisms. This could interrupt newly settled organisms and decrease the frequency of desiccation events by growers, providing savings on labor and cost. Does anyone have personal experience spraying their gear to diminish the prevalence of bio-fouling?

http://www.onlineathens.com/news/20180317/uga-seeking-ways-to-revive-oyster-industry ... See more

Savannah, Ga. – Ripples form on the surface of the water as University of Georgia graduate student Shannon Kirk loads her research equipment onto

Excellent commentary of the previously posted "Shell Game" by Bruce Barber, executive director of the Gulf Shellfish Institute, Inc. Innovation has the potential propel Florida to the forefront of the aquacultured shellfish industry.

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/letters/Sunday-s-letters-The-future-of-oyster-production_167266717 ... See more

Shell game | April 15Future of oyster productionThanks to Laura Reiley for an excellent synopsis of the current state of oyster production in Florida. The collapse of the Apalachicola oyster fish

Check out this video from Hexcyl System that demonstrates how to properly construct an adjustable longline system on your lease.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJF_9XXSOYk

http://www.hexcylsystems.com.au This video shows the Hexcyl Adjustable Long line Shellfish farming method which has been tried and proven by our own Oyster f...

This growout experiment in Cedar Key shows how effective off-bottom oyster aquaculture can be. Market sized premium oysters in less than 1 year from spawn!

http://shellfish.ifas.ufl.edu/oyster-demo-project/ ... See more