Oysters Carolina, Harker’s Island

Ryan Bethea had never really thought about oyster mariculture until he stumbled across an article in a magazine at his parents’ house.

“It all of a sudden hit home for me,” he said. “I’ve always been a real pro-North Carolina kind of person, really into the environment, and it hit me like a ton of bricks–this could be your way to make a difference for our state, environmentally and for the people of our state.”

So Bethea, who owns and operates Oysters Carolina in Harkers Island, got another degree and did some post-graduate work at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in oyster genetics.

He then worked with Jimmy Morris of Millpoint Aquaculture, which is the only oyster hatchery in North Carolina. Bethea purchased his lease from Morris and started his operation in early 2015.

“My business model is a little bit different,” Bethea said. “I’m in it for the long haul, and I’m working more on building reputation than making money from it.”

Bethea used to teach middle school in Durham and operate his lease, but now he works on his oysters full-time. His is a small-to-medium farm with 300,000 oysters in the water, and he said that’s the most he’ll ever have because he wants to be able to do everything himself. Bethea’s heard his oysters described as the saltiest people have ever had, which is due to the location of the lease. The salinity is 31-33 ppt, and Bethea harvests his oysters the day-of for events to ensure they’re at their freshest.

Owning an oyster mariculture operation is a challenging in task, in part because of the nature of the work. On the day Bethea was interviewed, the sound had frozen over, and he’d kayaked through the ice to check on his oysters. He usually checks on his oysters with his kayak for environmental reasons. Bethea also said it can be difficult to keep oysters alive and that doing so takes a mix of science and strength, well as some luck, since some things, like weather, is outside of their control.

“They’re not fruit flies, so you can only try something once every year or once every two years,” he said.

Bethea said that since he first got involved in the industry, he has seen growth in oyster mariculture and that he sees a lot more North Carolina oysters available in restaurants than he used to. He thinks that slow, meticulous growth is important to maintain the industry and that educating the public about oysters will continue to be of utmost importance.

“We need education because many people have no idea about oysters … People just need to be educated that they’re safe, especially in our state,” Bethea said. “We grow them in sustainable ways, and they don’t even have any negative impact — and probably leave a positive footprint on the environment.”

To have you or your business profiled in a future newsletter, contact oysters@nccoast.org

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Katherine and her trusted companion Merrit on their way to her lease.

After years of working in corporate jobs, Katherine McGlade was looking for a way to work outside when she came across oyster mariculture.

McGlade saw an opportunity to make a quality product in an industry that seemed underserved in North Carolina. In 2015, she started her own mariculture business in Sandy Bay near Hatteras. Here, she leases about five acres and is slowly growing the amount of product she produces.

McGlade’s husband is a seasonal commercial fisherman, and during his off-season, he works with her on the lease. She also employs four people part-time.

She grows her oysters using floating bags and has experimented growing them in bottom cages. McGlade said that it’s her lease location that makes her oysters unique. Even oysters grown within a 10-mile radius of her lease won’t necessarily taste the same. While she admitted she’s not a taste expert, McGlade said her oysters are salty and plump compared to others. The average salinity at her lease site is about 25 ppt (with ocean water being 35 ppt and freshwater being 0 ppt).

She sells most of her oysters under the label Slash Creek Oysters. Local restaurants and distributors, including Risky Business Seafood in Hatteras and Coastal Provisions Oyster Bar & Wine Café in Southern Shores, carry them. Locals Seafood distributes her oysters in the Triangle.

Two years into her business, McGlade said she is focused on improving production and growing her operations. She wants to encourage potential new growers to start their own oyster mariculture operations in North Carolina, and educate them about the investment and time it takes to start a new operation, as well as the many factors that can affect oyster growth

To have you or your business profiled in a future newsletter, contact oysters@nccoast.org

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Middle Sound Mariculture, Wilmington

“At Middle Sound Mariculture we are applying science to grow delicious and sustainable shellfish.”

Middle Sound Mariculture has embraced the concept of North Carolina being the “Napa Valley of Oysters” by siting their family-run farms in different regions of southern N.C. This allows them to capture the unique merroir associated with each location’s ecology and provide some of the finest and freshest oyster varieties North Carolina has to offer. Three of their farms impart the unique flavors of their growing waters-

• The largest farm is located in the waters of Stump Sound adjacent to the Permuda Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). This system is renowned for producing top quality shellfish. These oysters have a mid-salinity (15-25 ppt) and are well balanced with strong vegetal afternotes. These Stump Sound oysters are named the Tarheel Tiderunner.
• Heading south, another farm is located behind Topsail Beach about three-fourths of a mile north of New Topsail Inlet. The highly productive waters of this farm impart a crisp clean profile. The high salinity (29-34 ppt) and clean mineral finish will “take you on a mini vacation to the beach.”
• Last but not least, their farm in Masonboro Sound, adjacent to the Masonboro NERR, has the highest salinity (33-36 ppt) and a buttery texture. It’s been said that “eating these oysters is like getting a kiss from a mermaid” due to their brininess that is balanced out by a sweet afternote. Oysters produced from this farm are named Teach’s Treasure after the famous pirate Blackbeard (aka Edward Teach) who kept his treasure behind Masonboro Island until Middle Sound found it in 2016.

James Hargrove, owner and operator of Middle Sound Mariculture, has growing oysters down to a science. He first started studying oysters at the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s (UNCW) benthic ecology lab in 2010, after moving from Charlotte. After graduating with his Bachelor of Science in marine biology, he worked as an environmental consultant for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Natural Resource Disaster Assessment program on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; studying oyster larval settlement and population dynamics from Louisiana to Florida. Seeing oyster populations across the Gulf of Mexico and up the East Coast being devastated from human related water quality issues fueled his passion oyster research. He returned to UNCW where he earned his master’s degree in marine science, focusing on applied shellfish aquaculture. Shortly after graduating, he applied for a shellfish lease. The application process took over three years to successfully navigate, but he has been happy as a clam at high tide ever since establishing his leases.

On the farms he uses multiple methods such as; adjustable long line, bottom trays and floating cage methods for growing his oysters. These methods help to ensure oysters are lifted up into the water column where they can filter plenty of algae and natural waves help to give them the perfect rounded shell shape.

Hargrove doesn’t just want to grow oysters, he wants to grow the very best quality oyster.

“Quality over quantity,” said Hargrove. “The limited number of hand crafted oysters we produce will be nothing short of a premium quality product that can go toe to toe with any oyster in the world. We are cultivating more than just oysters, we are cultivating an experience that brings people to the ocean.”

Middle Sound Mariculture has plans to improve and expand their offerings over the next few years. Eventually, they hope to produce an estimated 10 million oysters per year. These oyster will filter up to 500 million gallons of water per year and provide habitat to shrimp, crabs, flounder and North Carolina’s state fish, the redfish. If beer is your thing, you can taste their oysters in a locally smoked oyster porter—a collaboration with a local microbrewery in Wilmington, Fly Trap Brewing. Hargrove also plans to incorporate oyster-farm ecotours with paddle boards and kayaks. At the end of the day, Middle Sound Mariculture wants to share their story and provide a great experience for its customers.

In the meanwhile, Middle Sound Mariculture currently sells to Locals Seafood, who distributes the most available variety, the Tarheel Tiderunner, to restaurants around the Triangle and Outer Banks. Occasionally they can be found at local seafood restaurants in Wilmington. Ask for them by name at your local raw bar.

Middle Sound Mariculture – Taste the Difference

Contact information:

Email: middlesoundmariculture@gmail.com | Facebook | Instagram | Cell:  (704) 914-6174

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