Sea Grant staff visiting the oyster photo exhibit. Credit: Jane Harrison.
North Carolina Sea Grant and the NC Oyster Trail have teamed up on an oyster photo exhibit to showcase the folks behind the shellfish grown in our state. The exhibit celebrates the ecological, cultural, and economic importance of oysters and the people who help sustain this vital coastal resource. To bring the exhibit to your community, fill out this interest form.
The Exhibit
This dynamic photo exhibit includes seven 3×3 ft displays, each highlighting a different aspect of North Carolina’s oyster story, from restoring coastal ecosystems to supporting local businesses. These beautiful and informative panels feature farmers, scientists, harvesters, and entrepreneurs who are helping oysters thrive in our state.
A living shoreline. Credit: Justin Kase Conder.
An example of a featured topic in the exhibit is oysters’ contribution to a healthy ecosystem. A photo of a living shoreline on Harkers Island depicts the essential ecosystem services provided by oysters. Shellfish like oysters improve water quality by filtering nutrients, provide habitat for 300+ finfish and crustaceans, and serve as a food source for marine organisms and humans.
Another key takeaway from the exhibit is that 50% of NC oyster production comes from aquaculture. North Carolina has more than 300 oyster farms. Aquaculture produces oysters without depleting wild stocks. Oyster farmers often use floating cages or bags to grow out oyster seed.
Ryan Bethea. Credit: Justin Kase Conder.
“The best part about oyster farming is being out on the water. And oysters are delicious,” says Ryan Bethea, oyster farmer and owner of Oysters Carolina.
Make sure to ask for local seafood and support North Carolina’s working waterfront communities. Restaurants and markets that sell local oysters year-round can be found on the NC Oyster Trail. And once you’re done eating oysters, recycle the shells. Juvenile oysters attach to hard surfaces like shells, fusing together to form reefs, and are available for harvest in the next generation.
Matt Schwab of Hold Fast Oyster Co. Credit: Justin Kase Conder.
Want to Host the Exhibit?
The exhibit is a great fit for museums, aquariums, libraries, classrooms, visitor centers, and more. It’s easy to install and can be set up for special events or longer stays (up to four weeks). Displays are available with metal stands or can be wall-mounted with pushpins.
To bring the exhibit to your community, fill out this interest form.
“The exhibit connects people to the coastal heritage of North Carolina while raising awareness about the role oysters play in healthy ecosystems and resilient communities,” says Jane Harrison, NC Oyster Trail coordinator and NC Sea Grant coastal economics specialist. For more info or to chat about exhibit logistics, email jane_harrison@ncsu.edu.
https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-5.png9301244Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2025-05-15 08:43:402025-05-15 08:43:43Oyster Photo Exhibit Available For Your Community
by Allison Aplin on March 31, 2025 | Reprinted from Coastwatch
Rising seas and warming temperatures pose challenges for a critical, eco-friendly industry.
North Carolina is home to the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), which can vary in size, shape, and taste depending on water quality and location. As the “Napa Valley of Oysters,” North Carolina’s pristine environment supports a variety of oyster “merroirs,” or flavors.
Oyster reefs also provide habitat for a wide range of species, including fish, barnacles, crabs, anemones, and shrimp, improving biodiversity in estuarine habitats. This habitat additionally offers protection for many juvenile species, which in turn leads to increased dockside commercial seafood sales. Dockside sales and other retailers contribute $80.3 million to North Carolina’s $300 million annual wild-caught commercial fishing industry.
While Eastern oysters face many challenges due to our changing climate, they provide numerous eco-friendly benefits for coastal communities. For example, they filter algae from surrounding water, effectively removing impurities and improving water quality. Under certain conditions, in fact, a single oyster can filter 50 gallons of water per day. During this process, oysters also transfer nutrients from the top of the estuarine habitat to the bottom, creating an important link in the food chain.
Although there are often consumer concerns about farm-raised food, oysters are unique in that they do not require any feed, while providing nutrients that include protein, calcium, iron, and zinc. As climate change continues to impact food supply and as demand for food increases, relatively low-maintenance protein sources like oysters will become increasingly important.
Delayed Harvests, Storm Damage, and Disease
Climate change has caused global shifts in many facets of the environment, including increases in sea temperatures, sea level, and storm intensity. Over the last three decades, sea surface temperatures consistently have reached record highs since reliable data collection began in 1880.
Regardless of the specific causes, these mortality events have had devastating effects on oyster farmers in North Carolina. For example, in May 2022, several mortality incidents occurred along the North Carolina coastline, spanning 115 miles, with Stump Sound particularly hard-hit, resulting in oyster losses up to 90%.
Credit: Baxter Miller
NC State University’s Tal Ben-Horin is spearheading a new Sea Grant-funded study of mass mortality events, accounting for a wide range of factors in order to determine how growers can lessen or eliminate these events.
Supporting a Species and an Industry
Supporting oysters in North Carolina benefits coastal ecosystems and communities:
Follow the North Carolina Oyster Trail to discover oyster farmers, restaurants, seafood markets, and educational experiences that promote and celebrate local oysters.
Recycle oyster shells or encourage local oyster-selling businesses to do so, because recycled shells are vital for creating new oyster habitats.
Allison Aplin is a masters candidate in environmental management in coastal and marine systems at the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment. She also serves as an outreach intern for North Carolina Sea Grant.
lead photo: Daniel Pullen.
https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image.png17072560Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2025-05-05 14:19:182025-05-05 14:19:21Climate Change in the Napa Valley of Oysters
In the modern culinary environment, restaurants are increasingly focused on the notion of giving back. Back to the community, to patrons, and to their team.
For Beverly and Jason Simas, owners of the Shuckin’ Shack in Surf City, it doesn’t stop there. This dynamic duo is committed to giving back to the environment that has enabled them to serve the freshest local seafood since 2015.
“At Shuckin Shack, Surf City we are completely committed to oyster recycling. One-hundred percent of our oyster shells are recycled and returned to local waters to create artificial reefs and stimulate the growth of new wild oysters,” explains Beverly. “We volunteer with the NC Coastal Federation when teams get together to ‘bag’ local oysters to be returned to local waters.”
The commitment to local sustainability has earned the eatery a place on the North Carolina Oyster Trail, which highlights local restaurants, oyster farmers, and eco tours that spotlight the local mollusk.
“To be listed on the trail, we had to commit to keeping the local oysters on our menu every day,” said Beverly. “That isn’t a challenge for us because we love to make our local delicacies the star of the show. The taste is amazing and they clean our local waters, so it really is a win-win for everyone.”
In addition, they also bring in oysters from locations along the East Coast, to provide patrons with a taste of oysters from areas outside the Carolinas, including Canada.
“Every day, you can sample oysters from our local waters and fresh oysters from up and down the East Coast. It’s an amazing experience,” she said. “You can also have those oysters cooked in our many oyster dishes like chargrilled oysters. A varied oyster menu was our dream in opening an oyster bar.”
Beverly and Jason Simas, owners of the Shuckin’ Shack in Surf City.
But it isn’t just the locally sourced items that keep patrons coming back. According to the Simas’ the staff is by far the number one incredible reason why Shuckin’ Shack of Surf City has such a loyal customer base. According to Beverly, the restaurant has a policy of tip sharing among the staff members, which has fostered an environment where the responsibility to show guests the best time imaginable is not only shared, it’s embraced as an attitude.
“You will never hear any of our team members say, ‘that’s not my table,’ or ‘those aren’t my guests,” she said. “We are really proud of the team environment. Not only are our patrons the beneficiaries of top-quality customer service, but it really makes for an outstanding work environment for our team. And they work really hard, so it’s equally as important that they like coming to work and are proud to be a part of the Shuckin’ Shack team.”
Aside from its menu, Beverly said they work very hard to distinguish the restaurant with a “complete commitment to community charity and involvement.” Among the charities they consistently support is the Reel Housewives of Topsail Island Breast Cancer Charity Ride. For more than a decade, the Island-wide, 26-mile bicycle ride is held each fall to raise funds and help local breast cancer patients & survivors.
“We hold a sign-up kick-off party with live music, which is really a ton of fun,” she said. “We feel very strongly about giving back to the people who have patronized us over the years. That’s the beauty of a small-town community bar and restaurant – most people don’t realize how small, brick-and-mortar businesses sustain such charitable efforts throughout this country. It’s so important.”
Beverly and Jason work hard to plan events in the restaurant each month to give visitors something extra special to experience while dining. A Mardi Gras celebration will be held from February 25 – March 1 during which guests will be “transported” to New Orleans and treated to a special menu of food and drink inspired by the Big Easy.
During the week of St. Patrick’s Day, Shuckin’ Shack Surf City will be transformed into an authentic Irish Pub, complete with lively Irish music, bangers n’ mash, and green beer. According to the Simas’ EVERYTHING is going to be green!
Shuckin’ Shack Surf City prides itself on catering to both locals and tourists, providing them a place to enjoy a good time and watch a sporting event on big screens while taking in some of the local history.
Menu items are not limited to seafood. In addition to the crab legs, Ahi tuna, and seafood tacos, Shuckin’ Shack serves amazing burgers, sandwiches, salads, and chicken wings, which can be washed down with its popular Shack Attack Bloody Mary.
Shuckin’ Shack is located at 13460 NC 50 #101 in Surf City. They are open seven days a week from 12 noon – 9 p.m. For more information, contact Shuckin’ Shack at 910.803.2037.
https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image-7.png7501000Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2025-01-10 13:10:082025-01-10 13:11:58Surf City Sustainability: Shuckin’ Shack recognized as part of NC Oyster Trail
Lovers of bivalves, rejoice! The NC Oyster Trail is packed with aquatic farms and restaurants where you can eat your fill throughout the year.
B
by Jason Frye on December 17, 2024 | Reprinted fromVisit NC
Ghost Fleet Oyster Company
Take a deep dive into marine farming, even if you only wade in as far as your knees or stay dry on the boat. Learn how water salinity and temperature affect oyster production before learning the finest preparation techniques.
Tour
More than a dozen North Carolina oyster farms let you in on their secrets to mariculture (marine farming). Learn what conditions create the tastiest oyster, then shuck and sample a few while you’re on the water. Ghost Fleet Oyster Company offers tours of their floating farms in Sneads Ferry and Hampstead, filling you in on all things oyster: life cycle, the importance of shell recycling and more. Farther down the coast, Epic Excursions provides three-hour tours of Middle Sound Mariculture farm near Wilmington, where the water is perfectly salty for raising a delicious oyster. Their tours include a boat ride to a barrier island for oyster snacking with wine pairings. Best of all, farmed oysters are safe to eat year-round.
Tour with Ghost Fleet Oyster Company
Taste
When you tour an oyster farm, you’ll sample as many as you can shuck. For shuck-free savoring, make your way to a restaurant or seasonal event that puts these mollusks on the pedestal they deserve. Jackson’s Last Saturday Oyster Roast takes place in January, when guests can dine on platters heaped high with roasted oysters. Rusty Hooks Dockside Grill in Southport serves oysters on the half-shell, steamed and fried. (Pro tip: Enjoy your feast at a table with a sunset view.) Ocracoke Oyster Company serves select oysters from a trio of farms on the Outer Banks; enjoy yours on the half-shell with a zippy side of wasabi and ginger, doused in spicy mustard vinegar sauce or prepared Rockefeller-style.
Learn More
Oysters are more than tasty treats – they’re essential to the coastal ecosystem. At the North Carolina Estuarium in Washington and Hatteras Island Ocean Center on the Outer Banks, exhibits spotlight the role oysters play in the environment and the conditions that help oysters, clams, crabs and other sea creatures thrive.
https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image-3.png960960Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2025-01-10 12:52:262025-01-10 12:59:11Follow the NC Oyster Trail for Fresh Tours and Tastes
To protect their oysters, North Carolina went to war in the late 1800s. As a result, oyster farmers have committed themselves to maintaining the supply of oysters that are showcased on their oyster trail across the state. Check out Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham owned by James Beard Award-winning chef Ricky Moore or take a tour of Oysters Carolina at Harkers Island to explore the bounty of bivalve mollusks.
https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image-2.png937750Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2025-01-09 19:18:552025-01-09 19:18:5813 Incredibly Cool Food Trails You Can Visit in the U.S.
Photograph: Courtesy Visit North Carolina/Kate Warren
North Carolina’s Crystal Coast is renowned for its beaches, but did you know it’s also considered the “Napa Valley of Oysters” since it offers a wide variety of flavors? The destination’s Oyster Trail encompasses 80 sites, including Oyster Carolina (where visitors can take a tour, get knee-deep in the water, pull oysters straight from the sea and learn how to shuck ‘em) and Hoop Pool Creek Oyster Company (where adventure-seeking travelers can embark on a kayak tour of the farm). Expand your culinary horizons even further by digging into an order of loaded baked oysters with chorizo, scallion, cheese, bread crumbs, and sour cream at Coquina Fishbar, or keep it simple with an order of steamed or raw oysters at Parley’s Sip & Steam.
https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image-1.png8641536Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2025-01-09 19:06:252025-01-09 19:06:28The best food and drink trails in America for experiencing local flavors
Oyster farmer Ryan Bethea. Photo by Jeyhoun Allebaugh. Credit: Courtesy of Oysters Carolina
On a typical winter morning, Ryan Bethea might wake up on the North Carolina coast in 65-degree weather, harvest oysters in his shirtsleeves, and end the day trudging through snow on the other side of the state.
Dramatic temperature swings and marathon deliveries are all part of the job, says Bethea, whose operation is unique in the industry: he texts customers photo proof of their oysters being harvested, then delivers them the same day.
A Durham native, Bethea launched Oysters Carolina—a sustainable shellfish farm on Harkers Island—in 2015, with an unconventional approach: no minimum orders, free delivery anywhere in North Carolina. Though he’s had to adjust some policies since then (there’s now a 50-oyster minimum for most orders), his commitment to accessibility has earned him a uniquely diverse customer base that spans every corner of the state.
On Sunday, Bethea brought his signature Beau Sel oysters (“beautiful salt,” in French) to Krill in Durham for an afternoon oyster roast.
While he was in town, the INDY caught up with Bethea to discuss the science behind his ultra-briny bivalves, his path to oyster farming, and why same-day delivery is worth endless hours on the road.
INDY: Tell me about your path to oyster farming.
Bethea: After high school, I went to play college soccer for a couple years, partied too much, and then started bartending and traveling around the country, bartending here and there. I was working at this place in South Durham by New Hope Commons, I can’t remember what it’s called, and I had dress shoes on and was walking on these beautiful floors. And just the sound of nice dress shoes on wooden floors—I don’t know what it was, but it triggered something in me. Like, “It’s time for me to do something meaningful with my life.” You only hear that sound if you’re walking in a courthouse or a nice building.
I went back to school and got a degree in geography at North Carolina Central. The geography program is magnifique.
In North Carolina, if you have a certain degree and a certain GPA, you can start teaching while earning your certificate. It’s called lateral entry. I got a call from Principal Lovett at Terrell Lane, a Title One school in Franklin County. I turned 30 on a Saturday, worked a bar shift that night, and started teaching the following Wednesday. It was freaking crazy.
What made you want to get into the oyster industry?
I read an article that talked about how North Carolina has pristine water but didn’t have an oyster industry like Virginia or South Carolina. It was this exciting industry in its infancy, and I wanted to be part of building it.
Do you see any parallels between teaching and oyster farming?
I mean, it’s all kind of stewardship—you’re growing oysters, you’re growing people. I don’t know how successful I was as a teacher, but I definitely cared about the kids, and I hope they felt that. With the oysters, we hope people can taste how much we care. It’s kind of like when you bake an apple pie with love in it, you know what I’m saying? It’s kind of corny, but…
I know what you’re saying. Tell me about your oysters. I saw they’re known for being particularly salty?
Everything on the East Coast, from Newfoundland all the way to the Gulf, is all one species—it’s called Crassostrea virginica, just the Eastern oyster. But similar to wine, if you take a grape and grow it in France, it’s going to taste different than if you put it in Spain or Argentina. In aquaculture, they call it merroir, like terroir but of the sea. Even two oyster farms 600 yards apart are going to taste different depending on the mouth of the river, what food is available, how much salt water inundation there is.
Our farm is 31 to 33 parts per thousand salt. The ocean is 33 to 35, so it’s pretty much a marine environment. Here’s something wild—there are no oysters in the ocean.
Really?
Yeah, it’s crazy, right? The ocean is too salty for them. They need brackish water to grow best, about 20 to 22 parts per thousand salt. So it stresses the animals, putting them in such a high salinity area. That’s why not a lot of people grow them in high-salinity areas. We’re really fortunate that we’ve got a process that works.
What does a typical week look like for you?
The one restaurant we sell to is Herons at The Umstead Hotel in Cary. So a few days a week, I’m getting up, driving out to the farm, harvesting oysters, taking pictures and videos with a timestamp, texting that to Chef, and heading straight there. Let’s call that Monday and Wednesday. Then Fridays are our delivery day for everybody else.
Tell me about your customer base—who’s ordering these oysters?
It’s literally everyone. We’ve got farmers in Weldon, professors living out in the woods in Pittsboro, college students in Greensboro, bankers in Charlotte. When we first started, we didn’t have a minimum order and delivery was free. We wanted to get oysters to people in rural areas, elderly folks who can’t travel. Now we’ve had to add the 50-oyster minimum, but if you qualify for EBT or any government assistance, we’ll bring you free oysters.
https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image.png640960Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2025-01-02 09:54:312025-01-02 09:54:34North Carolina Oyster Farmer Ryan Bethea On Making Oysters Accessible Across the State
Once common and wide spread along the N.C. coast, the oyster is making a comeback thanks to sanctuaries and shellfish farmers. But many challenges remain for the small, but popular mollusk
by Gareth McGrath on October 22, 2024 | Reprinted from Star News Online
Image by Ken Blevins
As oyster lovers slurp their way through October, honoring their favorite bivalve during N.C. Oyster Month, the health of the state’s mollusk fishery appears to be on an upward trajectory.
After two decades of concerted efforts by the state, research institutions and environmental groups to help oysters − and the industry they support − bounce back in North Carolina’s coastal waters, the small shellfish is back playing an outsized role in the state’s coastal environment and economy.
But a slew of obstacles still stalk the fishery, from disease to declining water quality to broad opposition from waterfront property owners to the expansion of shellfish farms.
And while the state’s oyster reefs will never match what North Carolina used to have in its extensive sounds and coastal waters, with some estimates that as much as 90% of the state’s historical reefs have been lost over the past century, there is hope the situation, if not at least stabilized, is improving for the state’s most popular shellfish.
Once so plentiful that they formed an important trading commodity and food source for the state’s early residents, oysters have always played an important role in North Carolina’s coastal culture, cuisine and economy.
But the tide began turning against the oyster in the late 19th century, a trend that only accelerated into the 20th century. Unsustainable harvesting depleted oyster beds and onshore development, including timbering and agricultural uses, degraded habitat, allowing sediment and nutrients to flood into coastal waters.
More recently, the massive influx of people drawn to the ocean has heaped more pressure on the mollusks.
As oyster populations have declined, so has the quality of the state’s coastal waters.
Oyster reefs serve as vital habitat for a host of fish and other marine critters and also as natural wave breaks − think living shorelines − to help naturally absorb and disperse tidal energy that can erode and destroy shorelines and damage waterfront structures and infrastructure.
But it is as filter feeders that oysters might have their most important and profound impact on North Carolina’s coastal environment. Each oyster can pump up to 50 gallons of water through its body everyday, removing nutrients and algae from the water. That, in turn, creates clearer and cleaner water for marine life to grow and thrive.
Image Courtesy of NOAA
‘An insurance policy for our wild population’
The status of the state’s wild oyster population is a bit of an unknown, with no stock assessment done in recent times.
But by one measure, the harvesting of wild oysters, the population appears to at least be stable at about 50,000 bushels, each of which weighs 55 pounds, a year.
That doesn’t mean, however, that groups like the N.C. Coastal Federation aren’t offering the little shellfish a helping hand.
In Pamlico Sound, the coastal environmental group has worked with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and other partners to build several large manmade reefs, including 40 acres this year and another 40 acres next year, that double as oyster sanctuaries and are off limits to commercial harvesting.
Erin Fleckenstein, the federation’s oyster program director, said the protected reefs account for only 6% of the oyster reefs in the sound, but represent 20% of the waterway’s oyster population and produce 25% of the sound’s spat, or oyster babies.
“These oyster sanctuaries serve as an insurance policy for our wild population,” she said.
But pressures on the state’s oysters aren’t decreasing. Key among them is the massive growth many of the state’s coastal areas, including around the Wilmington area, have seen in recent decades. Fleckenstein said that has researchers starting to look at taking a watershed approach to protecting water quality, including looking at steps that can be taken upstream or well away from the water’s edge.
Image by Paul Stephen
‘Something North Carolina can and should be proud of’
As the state’s wild oyster population continues to face challenges, shellfish farmers like Chris Matteo, owner of Chadwick Creek Oysters and Seed Nursery in Bayboro near New Bern, are stepping up.
When Matteo, who also heads the N.C. Shellfish Growers Association, got into the water-dependent farming industry a little over a decade ago, he could count the state’s number of commercial shellfish farmers on one hand.
“Now there are roughly 130 farmers generating jobs and income all along the coast, and we’re filtering a half-billion gallons of estuarine water a day for free, and that’s not an insignificant impact,” he said.
But like their wild brethren, farm-raised oysters face obstacles. Disease has always been a threat, and a recent spate of mass-mortality events has shellfish farmers and researchers scrambling to find the source. Then there’s the NIMBY worries of some coastal residents to having oyster cages visible from their waterfront homes, and the weather − including too much or too little fresh water − is always a concern, Matteo said.
Still, the industry is thriving and now represents roughly 70% of the oysters harvested in North Carolina, generating nearly $18 million for shellfish farmers, Matteo said.
And for tourists (and even some locals) there’s always the allure of trying something homegrown when visiting the coast. Matteo said that’s especially true when it comes to a raw product like oysters, where people realize if it’s sourced locally that means less time out of the water and a fresher product.
“We’re making progress on nearly all fronts, and that’s critical in a relatively new industry like ours,” Matteo said. “It’s something North Carolina can and should be proud of.”
Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from the Green South Foundation and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work.
https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image.png8801320Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2024-11-11 10:37:002024-11-11 10:37:03As NC celebrates oyster month, here’s a look at the state’s most popular shellfish
Get ready to “shellebrate” as North Carolina Oyster Month returns this October, bringing a variety of fun and flavorful events across the state. From oyster farm tours to seafood festivals, there’s no shortage of ways to savor local oysters while supporting coastal conservation.
To highlight the vital role oysters play in our coastal ecosystems, Governor Roy Cooper has again declared October as North Carolina Oyster Month. “North Carolina’s coastal ecosystems are invaluable, and the people who work to protect them are essential in safeguarding species that provide critical benefits such as food, water filtration, and fish habitats,” Gov. Cooper’s proclamation states.
North Carolina Sea Grant, the North Carolina Coastal Federation, and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources are once again organizing this year’s NC Oyster Month in partnership with the NC Oyster Trail.
Detailed event listings are available below, and updated on the NC Oyster Trail and NCDNCR websites. From oyster chef specials to kayak tours of oyster farms, there is something for everyone during NC Oyster Month.
Photo: Oysters on the half shell from Whalebone Seafood Market in Nags Head.
Mondays in October | 5 – 6 pm | Seabird, Wilmington
Visit Seabird every Monday for the N.C. oyster experience! Chef Dean Neff offers our state’s shucked oysters for just $1 each, and often features “Seabirdies” – exclusively farmed by Holdfast Oyster Co.
As you savor oysters from Ghost Fleet Oyster Company and enjoy a cold brew from Surf City Brewing, you’ll be supporting a crucial conservation effort. All proceeds support the Coastal Land Trust’s campaign to save the sound end of Topsail Island. The evening will also feature music, delicious offerings for purchase from the Fusion Blue food truck, and exciting raffle items.
To celebrate their one year anniversary, Dune Street Raw Bar will have drink specials throughout the day to complement their usual slate of culinary delights, then come evening it’ll be oysters galore with an oyster roast (from Kinnakeet, Little Star and Ocracoke Oyster Co) and live music by The Southern Split. Dune Street prioritizes their partnerships with local watermen, farmers, purveyors and artists, ensuring that every ingredient is not only fresh, but also a tribute to the rich tapestry of coastal Carolina.
Spend your weekend at the North Carolina Seafood Festival to get a full sense of the importance of seafood to eastern North Carolina. Be sure to stop at Fisherman’s Village (Jack’s Waterfront Bar) on Saturday to meet fishermen, tour a trawler, witness cooking demos, and taste our local shrimp, fish and oysters! The NC Oyster Trail will have an educational table there.
Make lunch reservations for Seraphine Restaurant in Durham on Saturday, October 5. Chef Chris Garrett says “We will serve a special menu of 12 raw oysters, including three varieties from the N.C. coast: Croatan Selects from White Oak Oyster Company, Fat Belly’s from Crystal Coast Oysters, and Cherry Point Oysters. Also included is a half dozen of Seraphine’s well-known Dragos Style roasted oysters, and my oyster gumbo served with Leidenheimer bread. Plus you can chat with oyster growers who will be with us all afternoon.” Reservations can be made for noon or 2 pm.
What’s better than roasted oysters and live music? Join Jolly Roger for a great day of amazing slow roasted pork, fresh roasted oysters from Lighthouse Shoals Oyster Company, and live music with stylings from Phil Watson.
Oct. 5 | 10 am – 2 pm | UNCW Center for Marine Science, Wilmington
Visit UNC Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science for a fun day of science adventure with hands-on exhibits, tours of the Shellfish Research Hatchery, a visit to their oyster farm and food trucks too.
Oct. 5 | 10 am – 6 pm | Empty Nest Studio & Gallery, Frisco
Join Empty Nest Studio for a raffle featuring oyster jewelry and a wine tasting hosted by Lee Robinson’s General Store. Come and enjoy some epicurean oyster delights and lots of fun! Wine tasting and oyster delights begin at 4:00pm.
Shellebrate the rich history, culture, economy, and ecology of North Carolina’s oysters! From games and educational opportunities to oysters and beer–this event has something for everyone! Wrightsville Brewing also will be donating 11% of proceeds from their ‘Beer of the Month’ to support the North Carolina Coastal Federation throughout October.
The Outer Banks Seafood Festival will teach you about our state’s fishing industry and heritage, let you savor local seafood, and treat you to live music. Meet fisher folk and see the boats that bring fresh seafood to your table. The NC Oyster Trail will have an educational booth. Be sure to visit!
Wrightsville Brewing’s annual wild oyster season kickoff party & Oktoberfest celebration shouldn’t be missed. Live music by Back Pocket Buddha and Birdwell Beat. Their best prices of the year for steamed and raw oysters!
Discounted oysters ($1.50) every Sunday in October all day long! Also, every week in October Coquina will debut a new oyster preparation. From Miso Butter Oysters to Corn Bread and Creamed Spinach grilled oysters, so many yummy things to come!
Mondays (5 – 6 pm) in October | Seabird Restaurant, Wilmington
Chef Dean Neff celebrates N.C. oysters every Monday with a special $1 oyster. You must try the “Seabirdies,” farmed exclusively for Seabird by Holdfast Oyster Co.
Weekdays 2 – 6 pm in October | Sea Level Restaurant, Charlotte
Get your $1.50 Sea Level Salts (SLS) Monday-Friday at Sea Level Restaurant in uptown Charlotte. And during the month of October, don’t miss their delicious SLS Trio: three Sea Level Salts on the half shell with chilled lobster salad and tarragon mignonette. Sea Level sources sustainable seafood from the Carolina coasts including their signature house oyster from Morris Family Shellfish Farm in Sea Level, N.C.
All October | Coastal Eco Adventures, Sneads Ferry
Discover the unique history and importance of the Eastern oyster on a boat tour! You will meet working watermen and women at oyster farms near Permuda Island Sneads Ferry. Call Coastal Eco Adventures to book your tour today.
Most Wednesdays (Oct. 2, 16, 23, 30) at 11 am | Wanchese
Paddle out to the NC Coastal Federation’s oyster farm and then taste some oysters from local restaurant Dune Street Raw Bar & Grill. Find out how this most sustainable and delicious protein gets to your plate. Be sure to register!
Photo: Three Little Spats Oyster Company which farms 59 acres of water surrounding Permuda Island and Bay River in the Stump and Pamlico Sounds.
Huge thanks to all of our oyster growers and harvesters! We couldn’t shellebrate NC Oyster Month without you!!!
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https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-10.png500500Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2024-09-23 15:29:312024-10-06 21:29:10NC Oyster Month is October 2024!
Carolina Gold Oyster Company officially started in 2018, but it was born in the heart of owner Tyler Chadwick long before. Chadwick grew up in the small community of Mill Creek, just outside of Beaufort. His grandfather’s family was made up of farmers, and his grandmother’s family fished commercially.
Photo credit: Michael Cline Spencer
“Growing up, I had this urge to be on the water,” Chadwick says. “Some of my fondest memories are during the summertime when I was out of school. Out on Newport River in the mornings, I’d watch the sun come up as I worked on the back of the shrimp trawler. I’d work on shrimp boats, dig clams on the sand flats in the river, flounder dig – anything to stay on the water.”
Diving Into Commercial Fishing
When choosing a career, he didn’t drift far from family tradition and opted for commercial fishing.
“Chadwick Seafood started in 2015 when only my family and I harvested our own goods,” Chadwick says. “We’d harvest crabs and fish, and we had other fishermen we’d buy fish from. We’d take fish to the market locally and to Raleigh and Durham.”
Then a shifting tide of regulation brought changes.
“We started running into problems with overregulation in the industry,” he explains. “I remember vividly in the winter of 2016 being out where we fished commercially for oysters and thinking, ‘We’ve got to do something different. What can we do that will keep us on the water and provide income for our families?’”
Casting a New Net in Mariculture
That’s when Chadwick stumbled onto mariculture, that is, marine aquaculture, farming marine life in seawater. He did some digging to learn more and became fascinated.
Tyler Chadwick founded Carolina Gold Oyster Company in Beaufort in 2018. Photo credit: Michael Cline Spencer
“I found a local farm in Carteret County at the beginning of 2017,” he says. “I called and introduced myself, ‘I’m looking into oyster farming, and I might want to try it, but I don’t know anything about it. I’d like to come and work for you for free.’ Anytime you tell a farmer you’ll work for free, they’ll welcome you with open arms. So, he invited me to come, and I worked on his farm.”
From the very first day, Chadwick knew he’d found what he was looking for. He spent the rest of 2017 researching oyster farming and working with other oyster farmers.
In 2018, he started Carolina Gold Oyster Company in his grandparents’ garage. Two years later, he dissolved Chadwick Seafood and extended the oyster farm. It’s since grown to 17 acres, and they’ve moved out of his grandparents’ garage to a larger facility in Beaufort, with farms in North River, Newport River and Adams Creek.
Strengthening the Seascape
One thing Chadwick loves is that oyster farming is so environmentally friendly. This is due in part to the lack of need for inputs. Oysters also improve water quality.
“The oysters don’t require anything but for me to protect them in the environment,” he says. “One adult oyster filters 50 gallons of water a day. Our farm alone, with our number of oysters, filters 100 million gallons of water every 24 hours.”
Photo credit: Michael Cline Spencer
The oysters filter the water through the simple act of eating the algae and plankton in the water. At the same time, they’re removing carbon.
“As oysters grow, they grow their own shells, and carbon is one thing they use to grow the shell,” Chadwick says. “When they remove the carbon, they input it into their shells. Then, when you take an oyster from the waterway, you’re removing a certain amount of carbon with the shell.”
Shells as Shelters
What happens to the shells once the oysters are sold to raw bars and retail outlets?
“Most raw bars have a shell recycling program,” Chadwick says. “They collect the shells, and the state brings them back and plants them on wild oyster reefs to rebuild the population. Baby oysters need oyster shells to attach themselves to.”
He notes that once an oyster is harvested, the shell is put back into the waterway and becomes a surface for juvenile oysters to protect themselves and helps increase the wild population.
It’s easy to see that oysters provide a much larger environmental impact than just on water quality. They also create a safe environment for juvenile fish and crustaceans. Young crabs, shrimp and fish are so small that they’re easy prey and need protection. So, they’ll hide in the oysters where they’re safe.
Photo credit: Michael Cline Spencer
“Oysters create an environment for the future of our fish population here in the State of North Carolina,” Chadwick adds. “I always tell people the oyster is the firm foundation for our environment from everything in the water to everything on land.”
Leading on Land and Sea
Today, Carolina Gold Oyster Company serves customers locally and around the U.S. through monthly subscription services, set quantity orders and wholesale distribution.
As the company has grown, Chadwick’s role has changed from being on the water five days a week to being in the office and in county, state and federal leadership contributing to discussions on industry policy. As a member of the Carteret County Farm Bureau board of directors, he says, “I’m honored to fight with Farm Bureau to better the future for all our farmers, on land and sea.”
https://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-7.png13652048Jane Harrisonhttps://ncoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NCOysterTrail-1.pngJane Harrison2024-09-04 11:08:022024-09-04 11:08:04Carolina Gold Oyster Company Safeguards the Environment With Oyster Farming
