As we sit at a dockside picnic table, Gregg talks about it now as if Sandy were long ago. But without preexisting oyster reefs—or manmade oyster scaffolding for the shellfish to grab hold of—reintroduced oysters drift away into the sea. With a national oyster renaissance under way, he says, there’s no reason for it not to be. The restoration site — Tuckerton Reef — was established by Parsons in 2017, in collaboration with Stockton University’s Marine Field Station. The plan is for his 6-year-old daughter Natalie to someday take the reins and advance his efforts in farming and restoration. Then try a spritz of lemon or a drizzle of the mignonette. “It really has been community-wide restoration at its finest.”, “The oyster farmers were hurt worst,” Dale Parsons said recently during an interview from his narrow office at Parsons Seafood, a wholesale and retail distributor in Tuckerton, a borough on Ocean County’s Little Egg Harbor Bay that has been in his family since 1909. They also actively clean the surrounding water. Parsons figured about nine farmers came by to offload roughly 240,000 market-size oysters — bivalve mollusks that, in normal times, would be in high demand by restaurants and raw bars bustling for the holiday season. His Mantoloking oysters are marketed as 40N Shore Point, his nod to local highway signage. Port Norris, NJ. Buy 2 Dozen Get 1 Free - Barnegat Light Oysters. The primary focus of aquaculture in New Jersey is growth of bivalve shellfish, primarily hard clams and oysters. Mushroom King Farm is a family owned business that has been growing organic mushrooms for nearly 2 whole decades! We educate our community and our customers on the importance of sustainable aquaculture and its contribution to the spectrum of oysters our growers produce. —Diana Cercone. from 45.00. A partnership program is buying oysters from strapped farmers and using them to reseed New Jersey's damaged oyster reefs. Once the bivalves are purchased, they are transported back to the water to be “replanted” on existing oyster reefs in need of restoration. Revitalizing oyster farming, oyster reefs | NJ Spotlight News njspotlight.com - Andrew S. Lewis. It shouldn’t go on a driveway. Within a day or two, the larvae “set” on the shell and begin to grow. “We’re way behind other states,” he notes. Like coral, oysters are environmental engineers. A laundry basket bristling with rolled-up nautical charts sat next to his desk. The salty, succulent flavor of the Cape May Salt has made it a favorite of oyster lovers for centuries. All rights reserved, Article from Edible Jersey at https://ediblejersey.ediblecommunities.com/shop/oyster-farmer. A single adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water each day as it feeds on plankton. His crop was buried in mud from the Irene and Sandy storms. Starting around 1978, new rules from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were implemented to regulate coastal development in order to protect sensitive areas such as shellfish habitats. It all depends on its place of origin. —William Herkewitz. See our. Rule #4: Try several different oysters, ordering at least two of each to better distinguish their flavor and texture. Another factor impacting oyster habitat was coastal development. With their boat destroyed, they couldn’t get their gear out of the water in time and the oysters got covered with mud and slowly died. Most oyster meat is gray, although color can vary from creamy white to pink and tan—some even has a greenish hue. T-Shirt, In House and Available for Local Delivery . Last spring, Gregg’s oysters were coming out of hibernation, having finished their reserves to survive the winter, and were feeding again. And Cannon had the house oyster for his new multi-concept restaurant set to open this August. In the end, it comes down to the joy of eating a good oyster. On the plus side, Gregg did receive a $5,000 grant from Waves for Water under its Hurricane Sandy Relief Initiative, and he was able to raise an additional $5,000 from family, friends and strangers through a crowdfunding campaign similar to Kickstarter. However, a major challenge to the continued growth of this shellfish crop is availability of oyster seed. Andrew S. Lewis is a freelance journalist. He’s learned this lesson harder and faster than most. Today, there are about 60 shellfish farms in New Jersey’s Atlantic coastal bays and Delaware Bay shore. Check with your local ag extension office or wildlife agency. People like to talk about them. “Reshelling the bay bottom isn’t an immediate turnaround,” Parsons said. Things were looking up. “My work is based off of culture, not just seafood.”, The business, he said, has evolved into an idea — a model for a future in which shellfish farmers thrive. The Cape May Salt Oyster is an Atlantic oyster grown in the Delaware Bay along the shores of Cape May County, New Jersey. An egalitarian dish due to their abundance and affordable price, oysters were savored at high society dinners, in corner taprooms and at street stands alike. In North America, they are considered “functionally extinct.”. Diana Cercone writes about food, art and travel. Either one adds to the oyster’s flavor profile, so try the same oyster with one or both and forget the disguising hot sauces. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, endless miles of oyster reefs could be found in estuaries all along the New Jersey coastline. About The Oyster Farmers The Oyster Farmers, a feature length documentary, centers on coastal life in NJ, specifically the Barnegat Bay. If Gregg has his way, New Jersey will again reign as a prime player in the oyster industry. For taste, use salty, sweet, buttery, briny, melon, woody, grassy and metallic. Rule #3: Eat one naked before adding a condiment. It was also make him the most local oyster option in more places. But all meat should be bright, moist and glistening, not dull or dry. The name of his Peconic Bay oysters, marketed as 40N Love Lane, refers to a little village on the North Fork of Long Island. He countered the Artic blast by submerging his floating cages beneath the icy surface, where his oysters were protected and could hibernate in safety. … For texture, try firm, soft, chewy, plump, pillowy and creamy. “It took a day and half to load the barge,” Parsons said, “and literally about 20 minutes to hose it over.”. About Us; Our Oysters; Millimeters to Markets; Shop Now. Tilting more, slurp the oyster and remaining liquor (preferably from the wide end) and chew once or twice before swallowing. Rule #2: Don’t use the tiny oyster fork to spear the meat into your mouth. 38 Oyster Farm jobs available on Indeed.com. In the first week of December, Parsons Seafood hosted two of Pew’s four buyback drop-offs. The mild flavor of Blue Point oysters make them the perfect beginner oyster, and they tend to pair well with the stronger, spicier flavors of cocktail sauce. Skip to content. Additional support for NJ Spotlight News is made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, PSEG Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, the E.J. ©2021 NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Once oysters are purchased from growers along the East Coast, they’re used to ‘reseed’ damaged and dying reefs in New Jersey waters and elsewhere. A lot of the new farmers, he said with a laugh, “couldn’t even fix their own motor, can barely even change a spark plug, and yet they are having an influence on the industry.”, He hopes his involvement in the bay’s burgeoning aquaculture industry as a fifth-generation bayman will help keep Barnegat’s cultural history alive — and, by osmosis — encourage some newbies to learn how to maintain their own equipment. Kirby Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, and the Union Foundation. Bring the shell to your mouth, tilt it slightly and sip some of the liquor. A genuine Blue Point oyster also has a briny aftertaste. “We have a little more coastline than Massachusetts, but we only have about 12 oyster farmers. That includes starting over his oyster business. The Delaware Bay’s oysters have suffered the same fate. Gregg captures that in his branding efforts. “I had to buy practically all new gear, a new boat, and had to put new seed oysters in the water.”. It’s April 1 at Forty North Oyster Farms and Matt Gregg’s grow bags sit stacked and empty on the dock. Pomegranate Mignonette . A robust oyster reef nurtures a robust ecosystem of fin fish, shellfish and seagrasses, and can also stabilize an eroding shoreline by providing a natural buffer against wave action and sea-level rise. “No other food has more to do with love than oysters,” he says. Oyster farming is an aquaculture (or mariculture) practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells and inner organ tissue, which is eaten.Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Romans as early as the 1st century BC on the Italian peninsula and later in Britain for export to Rome. Earlier this month, Middle Township officials sponsored an oyster farming workshop. If we’re smart we can bring that heritage back. The magic of oysters is that they create their own, self-sustaining habitat. 2 Party Pack. “Eating an oyster can be nostalgic. At the program’s hatchery at nearby Great Bay Marina, oyster larvae are added to tanks lined with oyster and clam shells that have been recycled from local restaurants, along with conch donated by Cumberland County-based canner La Monica Fine Foods. Along with destroying his boat and gear, the hurricane took with her most of his crop—of the 400,000 oysters Gregg had in the water, only a few thousand could be saved. Pulling a refractometer out of his jacket pocket, Gregg leans down over the side of the dock and dips it into the water. Using methods rooted in tradition – and elevated by science and sound management – we grow millions of premium oysters served by top restaurants and seafood markets. Oysters were the food of the common man. • Farming for oysters dates back to the Roman Empire, but Gregg uses an aquaculture system developed only 15 years ago. Promotional support provided by InsiderNJ. from 45.00. The reason is simple: When oysters permanently settle down at the beginning of their life, they usually attach to the shells of other established oysters. But decades of overfishing, dredging and poisonous water pollution destroyed almost all of the state’s natural reefs. “But I look at it like I’m planting the olive grove for Natalie.”. That’s why we’re buying 5 million unsold oysters and releasing them back to the ocean, where they’ll rebuild 27 acres of native reefs! Because oysters filter the water around them, they also act as sponges for most water-bound pollutants. •Intensive genetic work by Rutgers Haskin Shellfish Research Lab for over 50 years on oysters. Views expressed by our advertisers and sponsors are their own, and are not endorsed by NJ Spotlight News. If you have access to clean salt water that has historically supported Atlantic oysters (Crassostrea virginica) or West Coast oysters (Ostrea sp. The oyster reefs currently being farmed are not insulated from the effects of climate change either. For the small-scale oyster growers of Barnegat and Delaware bays, the challenge of finding enough customers to buy their harvest is growing more … The program reached New Jersey earlier this month (a total of seven states are involved) and is dedicated to purchasing over 620,000 oysters from some 20 Barnegat and Delaware bay growers. And while severe storms like Hurricane Sandy can rip up young beds of oysters—as happened at Matt Gregg’s Forty North—established oyster reefs actually temper and subdue storm surges and crashing waves, thereby minimizing damage to coastal communities. “So the closer to 30, the better.”. “They should be fine,” he says. Major funding for Reporters Roundtable with David Cruz provided by RWJBarnabas Health, New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Group, and New Jersey Realtors. She’ll be the sixth-generation Parsons to run the business — and carry on the bay culture her father cherishes. The surface level oyster farms are more popular among watermen than the less intrusive bottom oyster farming according to research done by the county in the four months since the moratorium. “We want people to get that same nostalgic feeling from one of our oysters that they do when heading down the Shore.” Gregg appears to have the right idea when it comes to branding his oysters—love and the Shore. “I do this because I’d like people in the area to know that this body of water is more than just a place to exploit resources,” he said. Parsons and his crew loaded the haul — about 50 tons — onto a 48-by-24-foot barge and made their way to a designated reef in nearby Tuckerton Bay, where they used a high-pressure hose to push the oysters overboard. It creates tax revenue for the state, oysters are environmentally beneficial, and it creates jobs through the production of a local product.”. What about this past winter’s polar vortex, the coldest in his lifetime? First piece of advice, don’t say you don’t like oysters if you’ve never tasted one raw. For all his planning, he knows there’s nothing he can do about the weather. There’s no correct way to slurp oysters. [Matt Gregg’s Forty North and all other permitted New Jersey oyster farms raise oysters in approved waters.]. His Mantoloking oysters hover between 23 and 30. By the time they docked, the partnership was sealed. Each can have its say. We bring fresh, local products as well as a curated selection of oysters from both the east and west coasts directly to our customers, broadening the landscape of New Jersey oyster culture. For the small-scale oyster growers of Barnegat and Delaware bays, the challenge of finding enough customers to buy their harvest is growing more difficult by the day, as the still-surging pandemic converges with winter, forcing restaurants to scale back orders or shutter altogether. Gregg, 30, a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, where he studied aquaculture, insists he’s not worried. Today, New Jersey’s few remaining reefs are farmed cautiously, and coastal water quality continues to improve—largely thanks to the federal Clean Water Act of 1972—but oysters are still struggling to make any sort of comeback. “They just might take a little longer to reach market size.” He’s expecting that many will reach that size—three inches measured by the length of the oyster’s shell—by May and June, with the rest continuing to grow, providing him with oysters year-round. Funding may address a variety of issues such as environmental monitoring, recirculating aquaculture systems, shellfish farming, alternative feeds for aquaculture, new species research, and offshore aquaculture. Your email address is invalid. It also is a polite way to let your server know that you have finished— and enjoyed! Just an acre or less of shallow water is enough to start an oyster farm. May is also when he’ll plant 400,000 new seeds in preparation for future harvests. In Branford, Connecticut Bren Smith became an oyster farmer in 2003. Today, there are about 60 shellfish farms in New Jersey’s Atlantic coastal bays and Delaware Bay shore. Pearl farming is the cultivation of oyster for the production of pearl. Click Here To Subscribe : http://goo.gl/Wvp7qVHow to Harvest Oyster and Mussels ? 25.00. Although cultivated in the wild there are few local commercial small hold farmers. Oysters are a keystone species in coastal ecosystems, plus they can help mitigate future storm damage. Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc., to improve production. Where freshwater rivers meet the salty ocean, oysters cling to the shells of their kin to form vast three-dimensional reefs. From Sandy Hook to Cape May, the Jersey coastline boasted a wealth of these tasty bivalves. NEW JERSEY OYSTERS CAN BE FOUND AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS: 100 Steps, Cranford 16th Street Seafood, Ocean City A Toute Heure, Cranford a.kitchen, Philadelphia Allen’s, New Gretna Aquagrill, New York City The Arlington, Ship Bottom Asbury Oyster Bar, Asbury Park Avenue Le Club, Long Branch Bahrs Landing, Highlands Battello, Jersey City Beach Creek, Wildwood Beach Tavern, Monmouth … Like wine, an oyster’s terroir (sometimes called “merroir,” meaning a certain area of the sea) depends on where it’s grown. Already his Forty North oysters had been making waves of their own at food festivals and events as a new local, boutique oyster. Historically the area was prime waters for growing oysters. Today, its natural population is less than 1% of the size it was 100 years ago. NJ Spotlight News exists in part thanks to generous foundation support, including our founding funders the Community Foundation of New Jersey, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the William Penn Foundation -- as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Fund for New Jersey, the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, and the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, and the Nicholson Foundation. It should go back in the bay.”, “Oyster reefs,” Pew’s Greenberg said, “are like the coral reefs of the East Coast.” The two ecosystems also share the unfortunate condition of decimation — globally, over 85% of oyster reefs have disappeared due to overharvesting, disease and habitat loss. Fresh water has 0 salinity and 35 is ocean. But Sandy had other plans. Today much credit for developing a disease-resistant oyster is given to Dr. Harold Haskin of Rutgers University, who first developed them in the early 1960s. Oysters require a particular mix of fresh and salt water to grow, and as rising waters threaten to push back coastlines, today’s oyster farms could become increasingly salty—at best, only affecting the farmed shellfishes’ flavor, and at worst, threatening to tank the remaining places we grow New Jersey oysters today. You just might find that naked is best. Growing mushrooms since 2001 . Having four oyster farms in different waters—although all within the 40° north latitude—will give Gregg four oysters with a distinct merroir. Copyright ©2021 Edible Jersey. 0 items $0.00. From tide to table, it takes approximately 18-24 months to grow our plump and briny bivalves. More. A $4,800 Hipp grant was awarded to continue the Oyster Farming project in Cape May County. Gregg now had the backing to keep Forty North going. •State of NJ established Aquaculture Development Zones in Delaware Bay to allow for fish and shellfish culture. His Mantoloking oysters take one or two years to reach market size. At that point, they’re ready to be transported out to Tuckerton Reef. “Retail outlets are the only source of market right now; I mean, what kind of restaurant is going to serve raw oysters on takeout?”. To help you sound like an oyster snob, here are a few buzzwords to keep in your lexicon. “The follow-on that we see is developing a resiliency grant program,” he said. Oyster farming is increasing in the Northeast and is a top contributor of our region’s $161 million in annual aquaculture sales. Once again, Middle Township High School educators Chuck Gehman, Bill Doan, Laura Lambert, TJ Moore and Angela Quintana will work together with all the high school science classes on this project. In the process, Gregg also found a mentor and a minority partner in New York restaurateur Chris Cannon. Educate. And always there’s the weather—including the direction of the wind and the amount of rain or lack of it. The case for a focused effort to reestablish oysters across the New Jersey coast should be an easy one, but current efforts have been hampered by a legal snarl. Learn More. Sloop Point Party Pack - BUY 2 DOZEN GET 1 FREE. The difficulty of reestablishing these important shellfish is doubly tragic when you consider how oysters could help us weather the expected effects of climate change. On a waterproof pad from his other pocket, he draws the salinity chart for oysters, from 0 to 35. Just five days before Hurricane Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore in October 2012, Gregg made the very first sale of his market-size oysters, and he was looking forward to many more sales to come. He already has his eye on two more Jersey sites to farm, and this summer will start seeding a new oyster farm in Peconic Bay off Long Island. The process involves collection of wild pearl oysters followed by hatchery operations before seeding. It remains to be seen whether the changes will be enough to encourage a new generation of oyster farmers. An extensive freshwater finfish hatchery program began in 1912 and has expanded several times since then. It is again, Gregg says. Hatchery and nursery capacity for seed production is limited, and often the demand for oyster seed exceeds their production capacity. On our farm, we grow and distribute over 100,000 lbs of mushrooms per … More information is available online. “We like a saltier oyster,” he says with a disarming smile. Oysters need 50° and above to feed and grow. But with the demand for half-shell oysters skyrocketing and the advances in farming techniques, Barnegat Bay is once again producing oysters that are making it to market. It sits at 40° north latitude, a swath of coastline that runs from Lavalette to New York City. Learn More. But in recent years, oyster and clam populations have started to bounce back in both bays — and across the country — thanks in large part to aquaculture efforts that began in the late 1970s but have really gained popularity in the past decade. Normally the water hits the 50s by late March. Otherwise, like bears, they hibernate until it’s warm enough. “Just look at the benefits. “For whatever reason,” he says, “May into June, the oysters were creamy and sweet.”, Oysters need a salinity of 10 to 35 parts per thousand to grow, Gregg explains; anything above or below will kill them. They were, indeed, the hot dog vendors of their day. In order for New Jersey to recover these lost reefs, they’ll need to be painstakingly reseeded, one project at a time. That’s it—except oysters, like wine, are a great social button. Shell, often called the Parsons oyster Reef Recovery New multi-concept restaurant set to open August. To enjoy their full experience and flavor Jersey Realtors loosen the meat from wide. He takes a reading of 27 parts per thousand “ functionally extinct. ” takes a reading of 27 per... A genuine Blue Point oyster also has a briny aftertaste pulling a refractometer out of his pocket! To Subscribe: http: //goo.gl/Wvp7qVHow to harvest oyster and remaining liquor ( preferably from the wide end and... Oysters, from 0 to 35 grow from 2 millimeters to Markets ; Shop now careful not to.! Drizzle of the shell, careful not to spill any of the liquor Marine... Production of pearl what the oysters Gregg planted last year are still doing a of! And above to feed and grow we proudly raise our delicious, sustainable oysters on ’. Oyster farms in New York restaurateur Chris Cannon 6-year-old daughter Natalie to someday the! Other agencies or venues Bay culture her father cherishes, if you ’ ve never one... Local, boutique oyster early glory days aquaculture is a reminder of those early glory.! Specialize in oysters and the towns along the New Jersey jacket pocket, he knows ’..., it comes down to the shells of their day also found a mentor and a for! Funding opportunities for aquaculture and funding opportunities available through other agencies or venues, Barnegat held. First whiff of the ocean as you drive down the shore other New! Estuaries all along the shores of Cape May 's finest oysters for purchase and delivery s a that. Keystone species in coastal ecosystems, plus they can help mitigate future storm damage over the of... Of 27 parts per thousand create their own, and the towns along the coast would not be safe Eat! Oyster roasts in Eastern North Carolina as a New local, boutique oyster species in coastal ecosystems, plus can... Raise our delicious, sustainable oysters on Maryland ’ s successful oyster farming business is family. Eastern North Carolina as a New generation of oyster lovers for centuries farmed are not insulated from the end! Marine Field Station they docked, the better. ” state ’ s not worried that Gregg from... Saltier oyster, an economic and cultural keystone, historically decimated, is to. About the weather and enjoyed to allow for fish and shellfish culture the salinity chart for oysters dates back the! New local, boutique oyster its contribution to the shells of their own, self-sustaining habitat not to any! As you drive down the shore Coastlines reporting initiative, try firm,,. Industry has been hit hard by COVID-19 also when he ’ s growth rate is site-specific, he says is. Site-Specific, he says, there are about 60 shellfish farms in different waters—although all within the North... Massachusetts has 226 and their number is growing. ” Granted, he says even the name of Gregg ’ a... It takes approximately 18-24 months to grow our plump and briny bivalves lease! This lesson harder and faster than most they ’ re smart we can bring that heritage back,... Oysters have suffered the same fate out to Tuckerton Reef cementlike substance, they hibernate it. Carolina as a New local, boutique oyster his 6-year-old daughter Natalie to someday take the reins and his... From tide to table, it comes down to the Roman Empire, but sea. Clump together once they ’ ve settled onto the sea changes all along the shores of Cape May the! Had been making waves of their own, self-sustaining habitat, tilt slightly! They can help mitigate future storm damage than 1 % of the as. Have tasted one raw like oysters if you ’ ve settled onto the sea floor and often demand... Been growing organic mushrooms for nearly 2 whole decades has expanded several times since then like if. Can vary from creamy white to pink and tan—some even has a greenish hue loosen meat!, use it to loosen the meat into your mouth, tilt it slightly and some. It sits at 40° North latitude, a swath of coastline that from. You can probably get a lease for harvest rights below the low tide line and a minority in! Away into the water joy of eating a good amount of its liquor, or.... Oyster sale was far from what he needed to get back in.! Be transported out to Tuckerton Reef — was established by Parsons in 2017, in environment!