An industry rocked by Florence could hold the answer to a sustainable marketplace

Story and photos by Mary Alice Blackstock

CEDAR ISLAND, N.C. — When Hurricane Florence made landfall in early September, it rocked many coastal communities, damaging homes, closing schools and costing the state billions. But despite the devastation around him, one small town oyster farmer won’t let the storm dampen his spirits.

With a population of just over 300, Cedar Island sits nestled between Cedar Island Bay and Pamlico Sound in Carteret County, North Carolina. Jay Styron, the owner of Carolina Mariculture, has farmed oysters here for over a decade, and his family has lived on Cedar Island for nearly 300 years.

While Florence made landfall nearly two hours south of Cedar Island, the small island was hit by one of the storm’s outer bands, which caused severe structural damage to Styron’s property and dock, and displaced the cages that held his oysters in the waters of Cedar Island Bay.

Florence flushed Cedar Island Bay with freshwater and decreased the water’s dissolved oxygen levels, which resulted in high oyster mortality. However, oyster hatcheries that provide oyster “seed” typically only produce between May and September. This means many farmers, including Styron, will not be able to replenish supplies lost during the storm.

“This is gonna be an extended event,” said Styron. “One of the other issues with the storm was that it came late in the season for oyster growers, so we already bought most of our seed for next year. That’s gonna affect next year’s crop, so you’re looking at loss of not just equipment and market sized oysters now, but if you’ve lost your seed for next season, you’re looking at losses next year as well.”

In a typical year, Carolina Mariculture produces 200,000 market oysters, but because of the losses from Florence, production will decrease this year. Styron estimates the total losses to the mariculture industry could total up to $4 million. However, Styron, with the help of his friends, family and four employees, is on the road to recovery.

“I’m hoping within the next couple of weeks we’ll have [the farm] at least 90 percent complete, but right now we’re still in the process of just putting things back together,” said Styron.

A historical industry with a sustainable application

Styron is one of many coastal North Carolinians leading the charge to popularize the oyster farming industry, which has the potential to restore an oyster population that was once thriving in the state.

In the late 1880s, North Carolina’s wild oyster industry was at an all-time high, with a harvest of over 5 million pounds. Wild oyster harvest in the state has declined by nearly 85 percent since then, according to the North Carolina Coastal Federation. To make up for the loss of wild-caught oysters, the state has turned to oyster cultivation.

Eastern oysters, or Crassostrea virginica, are native to North Carolina and most of the eastern seaboard. Before European colonists settled here in the 16th century, oysters covered the floor of many water bodies up and down the coast. Oysters are such important sources of filtration, so water quality during this time was very high. While there’s little hope to restore the wild population that once was, oyster farming could enhance water quality and provide an important source of income.

Many coastal residents have taken advantage of the open estuaries to reap the benefits of oyster farming, which Styron says is one of the most sustainable industries in the state.

“It’s the triple bottom line, where you have the economic benefit, the social benefit and the environmental benefit,” said Styron. “They’re all rolled together and that is one of the great things about this industry. I mean, this is probably the greenest industry that North Carolina could ever be involved in.”

Between 2016 and 2017, cultivated shellfish sales increased from $1.6 million to $2.4 million, according to a report by the state Commerce Department’s Rural Economic Development Division. But Jane Harrison, coastal economic specialist at North Carolina Sea Grant, estimates that cultivated oysters could bring up to $100 million to North Carolina’s economy.

Harrison’s estimate isn’t simply limited to sales. It includes the money oyster growers and others in the industry spend on services, such as farm maintenance and groceries. These vital services would fuel the local economy, especially in counties such as Hyde and Pasquotank, which are economically depressed.

“Counties like that are looking at things like this as economic boosters and drivers, so it’s got real economic potential,” said Styron. “It seems like to me there’s a lot of positives and very few negatives.”

Although $100 million in income from oysters alone may seem like a lot, Virginia’s oyster industry has seen a similar growth pattern. In 2012, the total economic impact of the oyster industry in Virginia was over $40 million, and it has grown annually since then, according to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Barriers to growth

While oyster farming could enhance the local North Carolina economy, many coastal residents aren’t accustomed to eating oysters year-round. Historically, wild oysters were only available between September and April.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, North Carolina oysters were commonly shipped via train across the country to California in the summer, when temperatures were in the upper 90s, which generated health concerns surrounding oysters. Scientists also discovered that oysters reproduce in the summer, draining all of their energy and producing poor quality meat during these months. Because of these two factors, oyster harvest historically halted during this time.

But now, refrigeration allows oysters to be on ice within hours of harvest, and because farmed oysters don’t reproduce, spawning season is not an issue. Not only does this mean farmed oysters are guaranteed to be fresh, but they also provide high quality meat all year. But many locals still are cautious.

“I couldn’t give anyone on this island an oyster in July if I gave them a $5 bill with each oyster,” said Styron. “They would not eat it.”

Policymakers, researchers and other representatives of the industry have been using Virginia as the template for developing North Carolina’s oyster industry, as they work to develop a sustainable industry growth plan. The state legislature created the Oyster Steering Committee in 2015 to provide guidance on oyster restoration and protection, and has tasked it with creating a plan so policymakers can better understand the industry.

The committee focuses on all policy issues surrounding the oyster farming, including funding for certain kinds of research, hatcheries availability and leasing issues, which have been increasingly important. Both Harrison and Styron have served on the committee.

“The idea is that we’ll give them options to spur this industry forward from their perspective as state policymakers,” said Harrison. “We’ve been working together for years, and [we’re] definitely making headway in terms of policy makers better understanding the industry and its possibilities.”

They’re also looking at regulatory changes that need to be made to grow the industry. Until 2017, North Carolina had rules prohibiting shellfish leases in areas with any “submerged aquatic vegetation,” or any underwater vegetation — even a single blade of grass. Other states, like Virginia, allow leases in areas that have up to 10 percent underwater vegetation. Recently, standards in North Carolina were relaxed to allow up to 15 percent of cover by underwater vegetation.

Because this regulation is fairly new, the change hasn’t yielded tangible growth in the industry, but Harrison hopes to see a growing interest in the coming years.

“I think we’ll start to see that [the change] will allow people to get in the business,” Harrison said. “There’s been a lot more interest — a lot more people requesting leases, putting in applications for leases and trying to increase production.”

While North Carolina is starting to see growth in the oyster industry, there is still progress to be made. Oysters are a keystone species in estuaries, which means they are vital to the ecosystem and reflect its health. Oysters provide three major values, often referred to as the three “Fs:” food, fish habitat and filtration.

Although the majority of the water on the North Carolina coast is approved for shellfishing, there are fewer than 50 farms in the state, but Styron is hopeful this will increase.

“You’ve got all the western side, all those little bays and nooks and crannies on the west side of the bank,” said Styron. “We’ve got a lot of water in here to grow. So it’s just getting the interest of the people who wanna do it.”

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