REVIVING THE GULF OYSTER INDUSTRY

A UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM, AN EXCEPTIONAL OYSTER

Our farm is nestled within the protected waters of the Cape Romano-Ten Thousand Islands Aquatic Preserve, a breathtaking landscape teeming with life and steeped in history. For centuries, the Calusa Indians thrived here, relying on oysters for sustenance and even building their islands from discarded shells. Today, this legacy lives on in the very foundation of the Ten Thousand Islands.

The unique environment of our farm, nourished by the freshwater flow of Big Cypress and filtered by mangrove forests, imparts a distinct flavor to our oysters. This, combined with our state-of-the-art flip-farm technology, ensures that every Everglades Oyster delivers a crisp, clean taste with a pronounced salinity that dances on the palate.

Everglades Oysters is also working to streamline harvests through the use of a floating flip-farm system. Hundreds of flat-bottomed baskets hold the oyster spat just below the water’s surface, where nutrient-rich currents create ideal conditions for growth.

As waves naturally move the baskets, the oysters are shaped as they grow, helping develop the smooth, deep cup associated with a premium raw oyster. Once ready, the baskets are flipped above the surface, allowing sunlight to dry out barnacles and algae through a process called desiccation. From there, the oysters are harvested and prepared for orders, delivering a clean, briny bite with a subtle touch of sweetness.

REVIVING OUR SOUTHERN INDUSTRY

After securing permission from multiple state agencies, Everglades Oysters was granted one of the largest aquaculture leases in the Gulf, where more than 200,000 oysters grow below the surface like blooming flower beds. That milestone revealed a sobering truth: the Gulf oyster is functionally extinct, with more than 85 percent of its reefs now dead.

Aquaculture in the region remains deeply bootstrapped, supported mostly by small farmers working on limited two-to-five-acre leases. Meanwhile, oyster farming faces pressure from both established oyster regions like the West Coast, Prince Edward Island, and the Northeast, as well as the lasting effects of overharvesting, oil spills, pollution, rising salinity, and increasingly intense hurricanes driven by climate change.

Suspended in the brackish currents where Everglades freshwater meets the Gulf’s salty tide, the oysters feed on waters flowing through mangrove forests, developing the balance of sweetness and salinity oyster lovers expect from the best northern varieties. The warm waters ensure the bivalves skip the winter dormancy of the North, moving from seed to market size in half the time.

Everglades Oysters is more than just a farm; it's a movement dedicated to saving the Gulf oyster through sustainable farming, strategic marketing, and community education. We envision a future where the Gulf oyster industry thrives once again, creating jobs, fostering partnerships, and inspiring community involvement.