![]() ![]() As part of an expanding effort to overcome these hurdles for farmed oysters in Alabama and the region broadly, faculty at Auburn University are addressing the identification of possible niche markets, the potential for regional appellations as a marketing tool, and pre- or post-harvest treatments by the farmers to ensure food safety. ![]() A number of hurdles have hindered the growth of this industry within the region. …Oyster farmers using intensive, off-bottom methods focus on producing a steady supply of consistently premium oysters for the lucrative half shell niche market. Here’s an official statement on the experiment: (It has been done in the past, as Chris Nelson of Bon Secour Fisheries at least has done it.) It’d be worth checking with John Supan, but to the best of my knowledge these are the only off-bottom farmed oysters available from the Gulf right now. We also got some funding in a team project with John Supan to try and get two ‘block grants’ (a group of small off-bottom oyster farms grouped together), one each in LA and AL, sited and up and running over the next three years. We were lucky enough to not see any effects of the oil spill up where Steve’s site is. These oysters are from our 2009 hatchery spawn. These oysters are grown with Steve Crocket and are his Point aux Pins (a small peninsula west of Bayou la Batre that forms the eastern boundary of Grand Bay). If all goes to plan, we’ll have three oyster farms bringing oysters to market next fall. Not sure where to start but these are the first harvest from one of three commercial demonstration farms (all operated with private collaborators) we’re setting up under a Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium project. ![]() I wrote to Walton to tell him how much I liked his oysters and ask him for details. If the oil spill had threatened, these oysters could have been easily removed from the threatened area. Bill Walton at Auburn University is already turning out some amazing oysters in Mobile Bay. Oyster farming is going to play a big role in the future of the Gulf oyster business–and oyster appellations (place names) are going to be a big part of it. John “Soup” Supan told me about these tests of oyster farming concepts at LSU in Louisiana and Auburn in Alabama last January. That’s because our state regards oysters as a nuisance that get in the way of the oil and gas biz.ĭr. As usual, Texas lags way behind the rest of the Gulf oyster industry when it comes to innovative programs. I want to taste these again later in the season when they get a little plumper and sweeter. As for the flavor, they were incredibly briny (42 to nearly 50 parts per thousand salinity). They were grown from hatchery spat in racks off the bottom of Mobile Bay, and like most farm-raised oysters, they had perfectly formed shells. These Point aux Pins oysters were among the best Gulf oysters I’ve eaten lately. ![]()
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