Oysters are ‘what’s for dinner?’ in coastal N.C.

Have you heard? Coastal North Carolina is the “Napa Valley of Oysters.” 

The significance is that the quality of oysters raised by North Carolina’s marine aquaculture (mariculture) industry is considered to be superb – just like the fine wines that originate in California’s famed Napa Valley near San Francisco. 

Linking North Carolina oysters to the Napa Valley wines was first suggested in 2016 by Rowan Jacobsen, author of “The Essential Oyster: A Salty Appreciation of Taste and Temptation.” His book opened a lot of eyes and ears and tickled the taste buds of oyster lovers to give coastal North Carolina oysters a try.

 

There are a lot of players involved in a collaborative effort to ensure that America eats more North Carolina oysters, ranging from generations of native oystermen on up to the state’s governor who is the chief cheerleader for economic development. 

Gov. Roy Cooper has begun a tradition of observing an annual, week-long “shellebration” of oysters in October. The governor’s office says that North Carolina’s shellfish industry contributes more than $27 million a year to the state’s economy, providing more than 530 jobs. The goal is to generate $100 million in business with 1,000 jobs by 2030. 

Oystering along North Carolina’s coast has a winding history. Perhaps it’s best to start on North Carolina’s southern boundary in Brunswick County. 

It was here that food writer Liz Biro became acquainted with the Coleman family of Calabash. The late Virgil (Tinky) Coleman once told her: “We ate oysters because we had to. We were so poor down here. There just wasn’t no money.” 

During the Great Depression years in the 1930s, Biro said, “people followed a dirt road to find Curtis Coleman cooking oysters just plucked from the Calabash River. His fishing boat was powered not by a motor but by Coleman’s hands on a polling oar.” 

“He served no cocktail sauce or drawn butter, just oysters cooked outside on a makeshift grate over an oak fire.” 

Virgil Coleman recalled: “He’d steamed ’em just right, you know, where they wouldn’t shrink up, where they’d be juicy.” 

“I can remember shucking oysters for people. They’d give me a nickel or a dime, and a nickel or a dime back then was real big.” 

Virgil Coleman said he used to hear people wondering who in the world ever “ate the first oyster? Well, I always wondered who ate the first egg….” 

These and other oyster stories are waiting to be told all along the “North Carolina Oyster Trail.”

 

Created in 2020, the oyster trail provides tourism experiences that are designed to educate the public about the benefits of oysters…and to help sustain and grow North Carolina’s oyster-related businesses throughout the coastal region. 

The oyster trail also highlights upscale North Carolina restaurants that offer oysters to their patrons as specialty dishes. Eat them year-round any way you can – raw, steamed, fried, grilled, roasted or stewed.

 

The primary sponsors of the oyster trail are North Carolina Sea Grant, the N.C. Coastal Federation and the North Carolina Shellfish Growers Association (NCSGA).

 

As background, a National Sea Grant program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1966 as a federal/university partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce and 34 university-based programs in every coastal and Great Lakes state in the nation. Its purpose is to build and maintain healthy coastal environments and economies.

 

North Carolina Sea Grant became operational in 1970 and is headquartered at North Carolina State University. It functions as a multicampus program within the University of North Carolina system. Sea Grant has offices in Manteo, Morehead City and Wilmington. It has gained prominence as one of the premier state-level Sea Grant initiatives.

 

The Coastal Federation was established in 1982 as a member-supported, nonprofit organization. It is based in western Carteret County in a community known as Ocean. The Coastal Federation has 16,000 supporters who are invested in leaving a legacy of clean water for future generations.

 

The NCSGA was founded in 1995 to represent the interests of the many people involved in the shellfish industry and to pursue a united agenda that encourages the growth of a prosperous shellfish industry. 

Today, the North Carolina Oyster Trail offers more than 75 unique “tourism experiences” that are “connecting travelers, foodies and outdoor adventure lovers to the magic of the North Carolina oyster,” boasts Jane Harrison, coastal economics specialist for North Carolina Sea Grant and lead coordinator of the trail.

 

Jane Harrison

NCOysterTrail.org displays an interactive map of where to buy and eat local oysters and how to tour a shellfish farm in order to learn more about the art and science of growing oysters. 

Many North Carolina oyster producers are now growing their oysters in cages that are floated or are suspended off the water bottom. As the oysters grow, they are periodically sorted according to size and are transferred to other cages to reduce crowding. 

Ryan Bethea owns and operates Oysters Carolina. He grows oysters on 5.25 acres that he leases in Westmouth Bay near Harkers Island. When interviewed recently for an article in Our State magazine, Bethea said an oysterman’s job is “basically moving a bunch of sharp rocks with food in them. I touch them eight or nine times before they leave the farm,” he says.

 

Ryan Bethea

The oyster trail’s website says that Oysters Carolina “offers farm-to-table, same-day delivery anywhere in North Carolina for free. Its award-winning oysters are consistently rated among the saltiest in the country.” Oyster farm tours are available on request. 

Where else does the oyster trail lead? Peruse the map feature on the trail website to find out. There are several locations within Carteret County: 

Hoop Pole Creek Oyster Company in Atlantic Beach “is a family run shellfish farm growing oysters and clams near Atlantic Beach. Tour the farm via kayak and sample shellfish while learning about the ecology and history of Bogue Sound.” 

Roysters NC near Beaufort is a family-owned oyster farm in the North River. “Schedule a boat tour to visit a cluster of four shellfish farms in and around North River and Wards Creek. Bring-your-own kayak tours are also available upon request. Explore the waters and what grows in them between Beaufort and Harkers Island.”

 

Down East Mariculture Supply Co. near Smyrna “offers you an opportunity to see and touch shellfish from its initial life stages. From April to October, tour the oyster hatchery and nursery and learn about the importance of protecting our waterways, the role oysters play in a healthy ecosystem and how oysters make their way from their nursery to your favorite restaurant. Optional kayak tours allow visitors to explore the natural beauty of Jarrett Bay and the protected marsh that serves as a nursery to a variety of small marine life, including a couple of oyster farms along the way.” 

Island Time Excursions on Harkers Island with Capt. Ricky Dodson tours oyster farms in the North River as well as trips to Shackleford Island within the Cape Lookout National Seashore to see the wild horses or to go shelling. 

Seavisions Charters in Beaufort provides tours to “the only N.C. oyster farm on a sandbar, Sandbar Oyster Company.” Its owners are “shellfishly motivated.” Here visitors can “experience a hands-on, interactive oyster farm tour, sample oysters onsite and take some home.” 

Crystal Coast Oysters in Morehead City offers direct oyster sales and delivery. Their oysters are “handcrafted near the mouth of the Newport River between Morehead City and Beaufort. Named ‘Fatbellies,’ these oysters are buttery with a punch of sweetness.” The company “will ship oysters overnight directly to your door – free for N.C. addresses.” 

Hooper Family Seafood in Smyrna specializes in clams. “The Hoopers will show you how to harvest and grade these shellfish. You can even try your luck with the bull rake. They have a wonderful spot on the water and can steam up clams to taste.” 

Science by the Sea in Beaufort “provides eco-adventures with a choice of three modes of transportation: kayak, stand-up paddleboard and a flat-bottomed bateau cruise. Tours depart from the historic Beaufort waterfront and visit the four islands in the Rachel Carson Reserve. Visitors can observe diverse habitats and estuarine creatures, including oysters, that dwell in these waters.” 

Additionally, two local restaurants are currently listed on the oyster trail.

 

Blackbeard’s Grill and Steam Bar in Beaufort “is dedicated to serving fresh, local seafood. Enjoy the golden-fried or steamed N.C. oysters while watching a video about oyster harvesting. The restaurant owners fished eastern N.C. waters most of their lives and are committed to serving the freshest seafood from their friends, family and other harvesters in their area.”

 

Catch 109 in Morehead City “offers modern cuisine focusing on high-quality ingredients and a creative menu” featuring “seafood from local waters. Enjoy N.C. oysters raw or steamed, charbroiled or prepared Rockefeller-style with creamed spinach and applewood smoked bacon.”

 

Writing for the Coastal Federation, Hannah Ross said oysters comprise a “superhero species.” 

“It may sound too good to be true that one, palm-sized organism could filter water, provide habitat, secure the coastline and be a delicious, nutritious powerhouse on the plate. But it’s not a gimmick – the oyster does it all,” she said.