McMahon produces about 30 million triploid oysters per year. “The few hard clam hatcheries are selling enough seed for some folks to get by but not enough to keep up with the increasing demand,” she said. While a few clam hatcheries also produce oyster seed, Sturmer believes that most aren’t interested in making the capital investment for the high-tech facilities and the skilled labor required to start hatcheries to increase production of oyster seed. The changing legislation coupled with existing infrastructure led several clam aquaculture operations to start growing oysters. To help the industry rebound, the state allowed water column leases to be modified for oyster aquaculture in 2013. Leslie Sturmer, shellfish extension agent at the University of Florida IFAS Shellfish Aquaculture Extension, believes the fledgling industry got a boost in Florida when sharp declines in oyster populations along the west coast of Florida, including Apalachicola Bay, led to an “ historic collapse” of the state oyster fishery. But interest in oyster aquaculture is on the rise. Shellfish aquaculture is robust in the Sunshine State but, until recently, the focus was on hard clams, which accounted for 98 percent of the $19.64 million in sales statewide, according to an aquaculture survey conducted by the Florida field office of the National Agriculture Statistics Service. If they are successful, they will be the first dedicated oyster hatcheries in the state and their presence could have a significant impact on the oyster aquaculture industry in Florida. are working to open oyster hatcheries in Florida. Thanks to two Florida businesses, that’s about to change. “Florida doesn’t have an exclusive oyster hatchery,” Olin explained. Since opening in 2015, Olin has relied on limited amounts of oyster seed produced in some Florida clam hatcheries or seed sourced from hatcheries in other states, including those at Louisiana State and Auburn universities, to meet demand. Panacea currently produces 20,000 oysters per week – a number expected to jump to 60,000 as soon as this spring when the latest batch of spat matures. “If we want to be successful, we need to close that loop.” There was just one problem: The Crawfordville, Fla., facility lacked a critical component for success. Rob Olin started Panacea Oyster Co-op with the goal of providing farmers with everything they needed to grow and sell premium oysters at a profit. aim to build Sunshine State’s first hatcheries Apalachicola Bay could be home to the first oyster hatchery in Florida.
Panacea Oyster Co-op and Pensacola Bay Oyster Co.
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