WILMINGTON ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) – Peak oyster season has started in Georgia, and a local farm is working to sustain what it calls a protein-packed superfood while keeping local rivers clean.
The Savannah Oyster Company is currently farming three million oysters on Bull River. Rather than harvesting wild oysters, the team uses seed to grow and raise their own.
Assistant Farm Manager Ashley Workman said the work goes beyond the food itself.
“It’s just such important work, it’s bigger than the food, it’s bigger than the river,” Workman said.
While peak season is underway now, Workman said the farming process allows the company to expand production year round.
“We are able to regulate how much time the oysters are in and out of the water, we also thoroughly sort and clean oysters on a weekly basis so we are able to provide oysters all year round,” Workman said.
Environmental impact
Workman said oysters give back to the local ecosystem through filtering water, building habitats and preventing erosion.
Georgia Southern University conducts oyster research on Bull River in collaboration with the Tybee Oyster Company. Faculty and students monitor an environmental buoy on the river to determine water quality and impact.
Associate Professor Tyler Cyronak said the farming process is not just efficient, but helps the environment.
“We don’t actually have to feed the oysters, they’re just eating what’s out there naturally, and that is a really great thing for the environment,” Cyronak said.
Through the research, Cyronak came to learn how fast oysters grow and mature.
“Within two weeks they were the size of quarters or bigger, so really, really fast growers,” Cyronak said.
Workman said oysters contribute to the ecosystem throughout their life cycle.
“They’re as important when they are born, filtering the water to when they’ve passed strengthening our shorelines, and right in between we get the most delicious local snack,” Workman said.
Farmers also use every part of the oyster to build on its environmental impact. Shells that don’t make it to plates are used to build up local shorelines to help fight erosion.
Restaurant partnership
For the first time, the Savannah Oyster Company is partnering with a Wilmington Island restaurant, Flying Fish Bar and Grill, allowing customers to try oysters grown in their own backyard.
“A local business pair with a local business to offer a local product, it couldn’t be any fresher,” Workman said.
Peak oyster season runs through winter.
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