The Auburn University Shellfish Lab: Putting Science to Work along the Northern Gulf Coast

The Eastern oyster industry in the United States produces 23 million pounds of oysters annually valued at $82.5 M.  The Gulf of Mexico typically accounts for 89% of harvest by volume, but represents only 73% of the total dollar value.  Experts at the Auburn University Shellfish Lab in Mobile County, Alabama are working to change that.

Despite the dramatic growth of oyster farming across the US, in the Gulf of Mexico region, oysters are only farmed extensively on bottom leases with the vast majority of production concentrated in Louisiana. Subject to environmental variability, the supply and quality of extensively farmed oysters varies widely. In contrast, oyster farmers using intensive, off-bottom methods focus on producing a steady supply of consistently premium oysters for the lucrative half shell niche market.

Off-bottom oyster farming, where watermen raise hatchery-reared oyster ‘seed’ in various containers, is an opportunity for a viable near-shore domestic aquaculture industry that can provide a large economic boon to the coastal communities along the Northern Gulf, to the producers as well as to the local  supporting industries, can improve the environment, and can preserve working waterfronts. While substantial industries (over $100 million/year respectively) have been established on the US East and West coasts, a number of hurdles kept this industry from being established along the Gulf coast, including Alabama.

Beginning in 2009, Auburn University’s Marine Extension and Research Center and Auburn University Shellfish Lab’s Dr. Bill Walton, partnered with Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, began to tackle the hurdles to this industry in Alabama, conducting research to identify the most cost-effective methods of raising oysters best suited to the region. Auburn partnered with a number of industry members to share the results and identify research priorities moving forward. This led to additional research into culture methods, marketing aspects, permitting questions and food safety. In addition, Auburn University permitted a 32-acre oyster farm ‘business park’ and conducted a hands-on training program where participants established commercial oyster farms within this park.

Building off this one business park, nine new commercial oyster farms have been established in Alabama, with a 2014 harvest value exceeding $500,000, which is expected to exceed $1 million in 2015, increasing incomes and generating local jobs (at least 20 on-farm jobs). At least 5 wholesalers in Alabama also profited from the sales of these oysters.

Two new oyster equipment companies were established in Alabama, with total sales inception over $200,000. Several applications for new commercial farms are pending the results of the Alabama governor’s review board mandated by Alabama House Bill 361 (on which Dr. Walton served.)  In partnership with Organized Seafood Association of Alabama (OSAA), Auburn has conducted a hands-on training program Oyster Farming Fundamentals in this park, which has trained 16 adult students that have collectively raised 350,000 oyster seed, and developing a ‘vo-tech’ program that trains high school students to be oyster farmers. Additionally, this park has served as a valuable collaborative research testing ground, producing published research, theses, Extension publications, and serving as a regional template.

Looking ahead, and in partnership with Auburn’s School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, the Department of Biosystems Engineering and the Auburn University Radio Frequency Identification Laboratory, experts at the Auburn University Shellfish Lab plan to establish and manage (in cooperation with industry associations such as Organized Seafood Association of Alabama) three 100-acre oyster aquaculture parks in Alabama, with each park supporting sixteen 5-acre oyster farms (allowing lanes among the farms for passage) as well as a hands-on training area. Each 5-acre oyster farm is projected (conservatively) to harvest 500,000 oysters per year, grossing $250,000 per year, netting $125,000 per year, and supporting at least 3 full-time positions per year. Each park will gross $4 million per year and create 48 full-time positions, without considering any supporting industries (gear sales, wholesalers, etc.). Collectively, the planned network of oyster farming parks is projected create 144 full-time positions, with an annual harvest value of $12 million. Furthermore, trainees from each park may opt to establish independent operations outside the oyster farm parks, creating additional jobs and income (as has been observed in the initial oyster farming park).

Collectively, this network of oyster farm parks have the potential to create 144 full time and numerous part-time ‘blue-green’ jobs and produce a harvest with an annual harvest value of $12 million in Alabama, within coastal communities that have struggled to prosper while preserving their tradition of working on the water.  Beyond the direct jobs and income created, this network of parks is expected to benefit a number of ancillary industries, including boatyards, commercial fishermen suppliers, wholesalers, truckers, restaurants, etc. 

Alabama is historically the #1 processor of oysters in the U.S. This new oyster farming technique, fostered in a unique business park environment, will only increase the economic impact of an industry that already accounts for at least tens of millions of dollars per year in Alabama.

To learn more, check out a couple of great (short) videos: Redefining Gulf Oysters  and For the Love of Oysters: Alabama's Oyster Farmers