Meeting the marketplace demand now requires the use of land-based hatchery technology to produce oyster seed in addition to natural recruitment in the wild. Oyster Life Cycle, Figure: Wallace et al 2008 Now with better management in place, including an effort to restore public bottom with suitable substrate, harvesting wild oysters in the Chesapeake Bay is still viable, although not at the level it once was. The Chesapeake Bay once was one of the most prolific oyster grounds in the U.S., but oyster disease, unregulated harvest, and the decline in water quality led to the decimation of the oyster populations. However, pollution and overfishing have modified the way oysters are produced to meet the marketplace demand. In addition, clean oyster shells or other media are planted in areas to attract natural recruitment. This practice has gone on for centuries and is still practiced today in many areas such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay.

The most traditional form of husbandry, or aquaculture, is the practice of moving wild oysters as small juveniles from public bottom to leased areas for grow-out. This reef formation is based on water quality, current flows, and the availability of a suitable setting material, known as cultch. Oyster larvae exhibit a preference to settle on and around where other oysters are located, creating reefs. Once an oyster sets in a location, it cannot move, so finding an ideal location is vital. The larvae are microscopic and will swim for approximately two weeks until they develop a foot and begin to crawl, searching for a location to set. Fertilized eggs will float in the water column for ~24 hours and hatch into swimming larvae. When water temperatures change from cold to warm, this change triggers males to release sperm which in turn triggers females to release eggs. Oyster reproduction is cued by temperature changes. The gut is made up of diffuse tissue that is both digestive and reproductive. The food sorted by the gills and labial palps becomes part of a mucous strand that is reeled into the gut known as the crystalline style. The oysters’ gills “pump” water to obtain oxygen but also filter particles from the water for the oyster to eat. Oysters are bivalves that is, they have two shells made up of calcium carbonate secreted by their mantle tissue that protects their soft bodies from the environment and predators. Factoring in both the economic and ecologic value of oyster reefs increases the number into the billions. That is probably a low estimate of the overall value of the oyster because it does account for the ecological value of the fish species that use oyster reefs as a food source and nursery habitat, nor the coastal protection and water-quality services oyster reefs provide. In 2011 31 million pounds of oysters were harvestede with a dockside value of approximately $135 million ( National Marine Fisheries Service). Be sure to follow us on social media and sign up to be the first recipients to slurp up our salty shellfish.Oyster culture is one of the most prominent forms of marine aquaculture in the U.S. In the near future, our team plans to offer tours of the hatchery, educational programs and on-site trips to experience a working oyster farm. A single healthy oyster can filter 50 gallons of water each day, so you can only imagine the cleaning power of an entire oyster reef or aquaculture farm. Not only that, the oyster reefs themselves make a tremendous habitat for other bay residents, like crabs, shrimp and fish, who utilize their structure as protection against predators, as well as a daily food source throughout the ecosystem's natural hierarchy.

Oysters are filter feeders and operate as the “vacuum cleaners” of the Apalachicola Bay. The benefits this natural resource offers to our watermen, the local economy, and the bay area's ecosystem and tributaries is undeniable. The importance of oysters spans far beyond our enjoyment of this unique delicacy as a delicious food source. Our focus will be on the biology, ecology, and restoration of the oysters, which play a critical role in the overall health of the Apalachicola Bay. Through the process of oyster cultivation, we will investigate the physiological and ecological processes associated with life in the estuary. Our hatchery produces a variety of oyster larvae to supply spat to local farmers, but will also offer our product for use in oyster research, oyster restoration, as well as educational projects. We've teamed up with the industry's most innovative biologists to ensure our laboratory is producing top quality oyster spat, which will help to jump-start mother nature's production of this vital resource. Apalachicola Oyster Company is excited to bring Franklin County's first state of the art Oyster Hatchery to the Florida Panhandle.

Oyster spat