Oyster farmers who feared going broke brace for a ‘bonkers’ summer
When restaurants closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the nationwide market for oysters cratered. That’s not the end of the story. From left, Megan Kelly, Lisa Calvo, a marine scientist at Rutgers University, and Steve Evert, who runs the marine field station at Stockton University, empty bags of oysters on a boat in Port Republic, N.J., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. Hannah Yoon/The New York Times By Tracey Tully, New York Times Service June 14, 2021 | 7:26 PM
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A year ago, oyster growers who farm New Jersey’s marshy coastal inlets and tidal flats were fighting for survival.
Credit: Susan Allen/Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration (SOAR)
The oysters bought back about 50 tons worth were brought by barge to a designated restoration reef in Tuckerton Bay.
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.
But a partnership recently forged between The Pew Charitable Trusts and The Nature Conservancy is working to counter the ongoing economic impact of the pandemic on the oyster aquaculture industry, which supports around 3,000 jobs nationwide.