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The Lynnhaven Oyster Club is entering it's 5th year of operation and has every reason to celebrate its achievements. The Club model has delivered value to members by connecting oyster farming to quality culinary experiences in a variety of distinctive settings. Members appreciate the camaraderie they share with fellow members while "enjoying the salts of the earth". So, what will the next 5 years look like? As we thank members for all of your support, we are also asking you to be patient this summer as we plan and prepare for LOC V2. We will be looking to conduct a bonus pop-up event in the spring/early summer to help bridge the 6-month operational pause from July to December. You can also consider LOC's member farm experiences this spring and summer. We plan on sending membership invitations and renewals over the summer for the 2026 season. Contact us if you have questions. If you know of someone who might like to be a part of the club, you can share this link/page . This pause will be put to good use. V2 Reboot LOC will be taking a pause this summer to perform some key improvements. We will pause normal operations to reboot, reorganize and optimize every area of the operation. We will be training employees to assist with LOC V2. New farm gear and working procedures are being tested for a phased replacement. We are also purposefully shifting from a July-to-June cycle to a fiscal year aligned to the calendar year. V2 Member Input Some of our traditional harvesting routines and technology must be updated to keep pace with rising demand. As we scale back operations, we will be business planning to expand existing club business and evaluating new opportunities. Members can help us out by taking our survey to help us know what we do well and what we can do better. Some of you might be contacted by phone to provide your thoughts on specific areas of interest. Simply put, increasing farm production or improving the quantity and quality of members benefits requires us to do more. This will require investments in equipment, technology, and people. Chris and Frank have been able to manage the farm and meet membership obligations. The LOC Barge requires extensive repairs and operational upgrades to improve its performance. In addition to increasing production of what we already do, there is an interest in standing up independent arms of the operation that can operate autonomously or support other areas of the business. For example, the farm primarily serves the membership: providing oysters to members and for members-only events. We also provide donations in oysters and services to non-profits that are aligned to LOC values and do good for our local community. Diversification Noah Wagner, one of LOC's interns from the VB Environmental Study Program, landed LOC's first commercial account. And what a debut! LOC is providing 200 oysters a week to Atlantic on Pacific. Learn about our intern's LOC experience here. Supplying oysters to restaurants has been something LOC has been careful to pursue because our part-time approach is inconsistent with the routine commitment required to serve these commercial accounts. As we bring on more help, training is focused on creating independent operators so this area of business can be supported. And as the club enters its 5th year, we also invite your feedback so we can make the next five years the best yet.

LOC interns, Aubrey Moore, Isabelle Chao & Noah Wagner presented their senior projects in late April 2025. This segment highlights their projects. We are extremely proud of our interns and the experience has inspired us to create a new student program for the Environmental Studies Program class of 2025-26. Members: thank you for your support of the Club and providing the opportunity to share the Lynnhaven Oyster Club experience with the next generation of oyster lovers. Aubrey's research will continue beyond her senior presentation in advocating for more effective preservation and expansion of tree canopy to various city commissions. Aubrey will be attending the College of William and Mary in the fall. Creating the Community I want to see - by Aubrey Moore. Aubrey Moore's life has consistently been intertwined with nature, engaging in activities such as hiking, fishing, and paddle boarding within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Aubrey states, "These activities have instilled in me a profound passion for environmental conservation, supported by two years of environmental science education in both classroom and community settings." This year, inspired by the history and current condition of Pleasure House Point and her involvement with the Bayfront Advisory Commission and Flood Prevention Oversight Board, she decided to investigate how the city can better value natural resources like tree canopy in urban planning, acknowledging their environmental, ecological, and social advantages. Aubrey Moore gained experience on LOC's farm as an Intern. You can see her presentation here. The Ideal Oyster - by Isabelle Chao Isabelle captured her data during LOC work sessions, inspiring us to monitor our own practices and systems for real-time analytics. This analysis is similar to what universities and extension offices do to help their state's agricultural industries thrive in competitive markets. Isabelle will be attending Virginia Tech in the fall. In Isabelle Chao's "The Ideal Oyster" project, she compares data collected on oysters that are grown in two different gear systems to see which produces oysters closest to the ideal 1:3 depth:length ratio and 2:3 width:length ratio. One of the systems under evaluation is the traditional rack and bag system of oyster grow-out. It is a static assembly of underwater racks that are fixed to the river bottom and support bags of oysters. The bags are strapped to the rack using bungee cord. The other system under study is a prototype system, constructed by the intern team. Its major difference from rack and bag is that it is not as static. While both systems comply with Virginia's general use permit that state oyster aquaculture gear cannot extend higher than 12" off the bottom, the thinking is that a less static system could help oysters grow to closer to these ideal ratios. Senior Environmental Studies Program director Chris Freeman introduces Isabelle. Isabelle's presentation can be found here Noah Wagner's Two-Year Journey Some of Noah's research on the economic impacts of the oyster industry came came from a report furnished by the Agricultural Research and Extension Center (AREC) of Virginia Tech . Noah's two year journey with the Environmental Studies Program, provided opportunity in both his junior and senior years to participate in new and innovative projects and internships. During his junior year, Noah worked with Noresco to curate a showcase of the LEED sustainable buildings in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools system. As a senior, Noah was part of a three-person intern team (including Aubrey and Isabelle featured above). Noah's presentation weaved the social, environmental and economic benefits of the oyster industry into a compelling business case for being an oyster aquaculture professional. Noah's EcoSummit presentation can be found here . Noah will be attending Virginia Tech in the fall. LOC Interns make the local news ... LOC interns, Aubrey Moore, Isabelle Chao & Noah Wagner, were interviewed this past fall by Erika Craven  of WTKR(3) to learn more about our work with the VB Schools Environmental Studies Program. Click here to watch the entire news segment

With the completion of the Spring Oyster Crawl at the oceanfront, LOC closes out the 24-25 term & our 4th year of "enjoying the salts of the earth". We welcome your feedback  regarding the Crawl and/or any other events you have attended this year so we can keep making improvements. Please share any pictures you have with us. Stop 1: VBS&RM The event kicked off at the Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum. Guests were able to enjoy the Lynnhaven's finest in the front yard overlooking the boardwalk, beach and Atlantic ocean. Some guests were able to take in a unique perspective and relive what it must have been like for Coast Guards on watch for ships in distress from the newly renovated watch tower. Stop 2: The Shack The Shack was was a challenging location but our member's ability to roll with it paid off. The Shack accidentally roasted some of the oysters designated for the raw bar which ended up being a happy accident. Members were rewarded with plain roasted perfection with the option to dress a slightly roasted oyster with Ponzu and green onion or the evening';s signature lemon and cilantro mignonette. Guests were also treated to baked oysters topped with a bacon-chive-butter compound. And of course, members took advantage of the drink tokens for a variety of beverages. LOC donated a percentage of the bar tab back to VBS&RM for their kind hospitality . Stop 3: Murphy's Irish Pub The event concluded at Murphy's Irish Pub where members could enjoy LOC's Lynnhaven Legends with Murphy's own Back Creek Beauties from the Eastern Shore. Guests could also enjoy self-serve stewed oysters and another complimentary beverage on the Club. A percentage of the Murphy's bar tab was also donated to VBS&RM for their hospitality. Thank you to VBS&RM, the Shack and Murphy's Irish pub for hosting us!

The Lynnhaven River is back! In this article, we touch on some history and highlight the people, places and practices that bring the famous Lynnhaven Legend to the table. In this article , Lynnhaven River Now highlights the growers that pull together to offer local Lynnhaven oysters at LRN's premier oyster roast event. We encourage LOC members to consider attending the event in support of LRN's work. Here is their save the date page . Photo: Lynnhaven River Now If you are familiar with Lynnhaven Oyster Club history, Chris returned to Virginia Beach in 2014 after a nearly 30-year hiatus from Virginia Beach. Chris grew up in Virginia Beach, graduated in 1986 from Cox High School and upon his return found himself once again on the water. This time around however, he was not free boarding behind the family Boston Whaler in the back-waters of the Lynnhaven. This time, he found himself helping out on an oyster farm as he looked to establish himself professionally. This is where he met and learned from another Chris, Captain Chris Ludford of Pleasure House Oysters (pictured). Learning from Captain Ludford, Chris was inspired to acquire a lease, take up oyster farming and share his oysters and the experience with others. Hense, the concept of the Lynnhaven Oyster Club was born. The Local Palate , published this article last year, The Return of the Lynnhaven Oyster , and highlights Chris Ludford's story. In this article, Chris sings praises for the Lynnhaven and it's return to the table after hard times starting in the late 1980s when most of the Lynnhaven was closed to harvest. Efforts by environmental groups like Lynnhaven River Now and state programs to encourage oyster farming have helped the Lynnhaven return and offer up its world famous bounty once again. And while Chris still grows oysters, he has expanded to share Lynnhaven history and his vast knowledge and experience with others through Captain Chris' on-water tours. Visit Chris' Tour page to learn more about the popular Waterman Tour, Chef's Table Tour and Tasting Tour. Chris Ludford is the latest in a long line of local watermen that have seen environmental changes play out in the Lynnhaven. Mary Reed Barrow of Lynnhaven River Now in this article writes about Oysterman, Capt. Irvin Evans p ictured below. The small building in the background is a historical oyster shack still visible today. (see below) Oysterman, Capt. Irvin Evans (photo credit LRN ) Mary writes: "When I began working for the Virginian-Pilot, I often wrote about the city’s history, its environment and its delicious produce and seafood. Oysterman, Capt. Irvin Evans, who passed away in the 1990s, represented the best of all three, and I interviewed him many times. You could see his beautiful inter-tidal oyster beds on the Eastern Branch of the Lynnhaven when they were exposed at low tide. He once told me that the difference between any oyster and a Lynnhaven oyster was like the difference between chalk and cheese. Sweet Lynnhavens also had a salty tang from the nearby ocean, he said. Sadly, many of our conversations were about how Virginia Beach had grown and how the Lynnhaven was becoming too polluted for oysters and that many were dying off from disease.  By the late 1980s, the river was closed to commercial shell fishing and Capt. Evans retired."( 1 ) Chris working the LOC lease on a foggy morning in 2024. The oyster shack highlighted above endures to this day. Oyster shacks like these was where oystermen like Captain Evans would bring their harvests to process them for market. Several in the area have been restored and repurposed, but still tell the story of the Lynnhaven as working estuary rather than the recreationally dominant waterway we see today. Take a short picture tour... Back in the day, the harvest of native oysters required a fair amount of processing once oysters were pulled from the bottom because of how native oysters grow. The restoration of oyster reefs is an important part of the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. This clump was pulled from the Harris Creek Oyster Sanctuary on Maryland's Eastern Shore as part of a University of Maryland research project in 2018. Credit: The Bay Journal (Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program) The black mud at the base of these wild oysters (photo) marks where this clump was anchored to the bottom. Oyster reefs are formed by young oysters taking up residence on their older brethren who are attached to even older shell on the bottom. This generational stacking creates a living matrix of oyster structure and creates protected spaces and a tremendous amount of surface area for a plethora of marine life to thrive. Yet this physical quality of wild oysters leaves the oysterman with a final task, especially if his customer was interested in a half-shell product: culling. After wild oyster clumps were gathered they were often transported to processing "houses" or "shacks" as the one pictured above. Within the walls of these places, oysters were both separated from one another and or shucked. Those who shucked often did not waste time separating the oysters. These shuckers would look at a clump of oysters like one might look at a rubrics cube before diving into the problem, and then would proceed to "shuck the clump" until all of the oyster meat was in a bowl and all that remained was a clump of empty shells. But for the half-shell market, a tool called a culling hammer (below) helps separate the oysters from each other into single oysters that are then transported and shucked after they reached their final destination. We still use culling hammers on the farm but not for the originally designed purpose: culling and separating keepers from put-backs. Today, we use them to clean off wild oysters or fouling species like barnacles. Raising oysters in gear rather than on bottom has allowed natural reefs to rebound in the Lynnhaven. The once plentiful oyster reefs in the Lynnhaven that declined in the later decades of the 19th century, are on the rebound and Virginia state authorities are opening up more areas to harvest. While plenty of challenges remain, such as abandoned recreational vessels , some critical consequences of development have been mitigated. Moreover, environmentally conscious groups and citizens everywhere are doing things large and small to improve water quality and increase oyster habitat. Oyster growers are also doing their part by adopting aquaculture as a predominant farming practice. Aquaculture accounts for 80% of the oysters harvested worldwide and similarly, most operators on the Lynnhaven practice aquaculture. As a follower and/or member of the Lynnhaven Oyster Club, you are now a part of a long legacy by being an educated and enthusiastic consumer of Lynnhaven oysters. After all, this is one of the reasons Chris and Frank started the club . The turnout at our most recent pop-up event in partnership with Lendy's 2.0 on Shore Drive is a testimony to the local Lynnhaven fanbase. We are proud to be a part of the Lynnhaven legacy and are honored to share it with our members. The Lynnhaven Oyster Club's debut event with Lendy's was a huge success. The Club would like to thank the entire Lendy's team for their help and hospitality. This spring, be on the lookout for member notices to RSVP for "farm experience" events. These events are free for members, and are perfect for small groups where members can get up close and personal with the oysters on the Club farm. And as the club enters its 5th year, we also invite your feedback so we can make the next five years the best yet.

This article draws its information from the World Wildlife Fund winter 2025 edition of "World Wildlife" Cherished for their smooth texture and salty taste, oysters are a highlight in contemporary cuisine. However, these briny bivalves offer more than just culinary delights; they deliver substantial environmental advantages and are among the most sustainably produced seafoods available. Oysters are rich in protein, zinc, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, and other nutrients, supporting healthy diets. We recently covered the health benefits of oysters. Eating oysters also has environmental advantages. According to a study by Sea Grant researchers, if Americans substituted 10% of their beef consumption with oysters, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be comparable to removing about 11 million cars from the road. While many claim that high consumer demand for beef is especially hard on the environment, this claim is not about substituting to offset industrial livestock operations. This claim can be made because oysters, similar to plants, have the ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. As they develop their shells, they take carbon ions from water absorbed by the ocean from the atmosphere and sequester this carbon within their shells. Additionally, they have a significantly lower environmental impact than many other foods because they don't require feed, freshwater, or fertilizer to grow. As oysters absorb seawater and CO2 to construct their shells, they simultaneously consume and separate what is usable and unusable by filtering the water. Oysters remove algae and other nutrients, thereby enhancing water quality. One oyster is capable of filtering up to 50 gallons of water daily. It is believed that when the Chesapeake Bay was in good health before the industrial revolution, the oysters there could filter the entire bay in just a week! Oysters are rebounding in the Lynnhaven and oyster restoration efforts is a key component to establishing native populations. This is good news for residents and wildlife. Beyond improving water quality, oysters form reefs that serve as habitats for creatures such as sea anemones, barnacles, and mussels, which in turn support other marine life. These reefs also offer shelter and breeding grounds for commercially important fish, aiding local fisheries and economies. Indeed, 85% of the wild world‘s wild oyster reefs have disappeared because of pollution, disease, and over harvesting in the last century. However, we witness wild oyster populations rebounding in the Lynnhaven River. Supporting your local oyster aquaculture farmer is crucial because it reduces the strain on wild harvests, enabling native oyster populations to increase. Through shell recycling initiatives, the shells from aquaculture, after oysters have been consumed, are returned to the water to serve as a substrate for native oysters to settle. As you know, your Lynnhaven Oyster Club returns shells after events to provide adequate substrate for wild oysters to "strike," which refers to the oyster's ability to attach to a surface, and this is critically important to oyster reef formation. We estimate that for every oyster consumed by a club member, at least two wild oysters gain a foothold and mature within three years. Mature females can produce between 2 to 70 million eggs per spawning event. This "godfather" role that LOC members play in supporting local native oyster populations is an under-appreciated positive outcome of membership. Because of the Club's monthly reporting requirement to the state, combined with our documented seed planting and shell put-back efforts, the Virginia Marine Resource Commission (VMRC) recently renewed LOC's farm lease for another ten years. Based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in 1952, global oyster aquaculture production exceeded wild harvests for the first time, with reported figures of 306,930 and 302,526 metric tons, respectively. Since then, aquaculture production has consistently surpassed wild oyster harvests, reaching 6,125,606 tons in 2019, compared to 133,984 tons from wild harvests. ( AGRMC.ORG ) Even with these trends, we will probably never witness the oyster abundance that once existed in our planet's history. The oldest fossilized oysters on the East Coast are located in the geological formations known as Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, north of the Potomac River. These formations contain fossils from the Miocene epoch (approximately 12-15 million years old), including oyster species like "Gryphaea," which thrived during the dinosaur era; these fossils date back to the late Cretaceous period, between 65 and 85 million years ago. Oysters are believed to have existed globally for 200 million years, and the earliest evidence of oyster consumption is from Mossel Bay, South Africa, dating back 164,000 years. You can learn more about humanity's connection with oysters in our article: Oyster Middens: human history told by oyster shells . If you have any follow up questions to the information above or in general, please reach out to us .

LOC interns, Aubrey Moore, Isabelle Chao & Noah Wagner, were recently interviewed by Erika Craven  of WTKR(3) to learn more about our work with the VB Schools Environmental Studies program. Click here to watch the entire news segment Isabelle Chao and Noah Wagner fielding questions from Erika Craven. Some of you have met Aubrey, Isabelle and Noah at LOC events where they are learning the "table" side of the "farm-to-table" club experience. The focus of the intern team is focused on the aquaculture side of the LOC operation. Aubrey Moore shares the environmental benefits of oysters For now, the work has been land based and has included operation of the tumbler and in building out standard gear and various configurations of that gear. We look forward to getting the interns out on the water to transition inventory into this gear so that they can start monitoring grow-out performance in comparison to traditional methods. The objectives of this work is to test how these alternative aquaculture gear configurations improve handling, fouling , and product quality. The grant LOC recieved from the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance is dedicated to this investigative work and supporting the experiential learning of LOC's student interns who's findings will be important to determining alternative ways to practice aquaculture in a highly constrained mixed-use environment.

At the recent On-Water event, a new member asked a great question: “how can I get the most our of my LOC membership?” We want happy members and we want you to get the most out of your membership. What follows is our top five tips to maximize your member experience. Tip 1 - Make sure you pay attention to club communications We mainly use email to keep in touch with our members. We send out event notices, reminders, and LOC news through email. Sometimes, before events, we hear members say, "I didn't see the email." We try not to bombard you with emails because we know you already receive a ton of them. When we do send emails, it's for a reason: to announce, remind, update, and inform you. So, please ensure that LOC emails are reaching your inbox and not getting lost in your junk mail. Take these steps: Log-in to the members area and make sure your email is correct or shoot us a note so we can confirm your email address is correct. Many email readers are great at filtering and filing emails as possible spam. To confirm you are getting club communications, try searching for "Lynnhaven Oyster Club" to see how your email handles our emails. Check both computer and phone email readers! If you find that LOC emails are in "spam" or "junk", you will need to take action to mark them as friendly. Every email program is a little different, but most allow you to mark the email as not "spam" or "junk". You can also add LOC and " info@lynnhavenoysterclub.com " to your address book. You might even want to set up a filter or a rule to mark LOC emails as important so they are flagged as important in your inbox. Tip 2 - Leverage every benefit of your membership In your welcome kits that are currently being distributed, a welcome letter itemizes your member benefits. You can also check them at our membership renewal page where you signed up and paid for your membership. Here is a recap: Annual Oyster Festival Pop-Up Events (Tier 1: all inclusive; Tier 2: a' la carte tickets: $40 for 1; $70 for 2) Wholesale Pricing for Oysters (Tier 1: 5 bushels max; Tier 2: 2 bushels max) Premium Gear Selection & Welcome Kit Members Only Access & Content Bottom Line: Tier 1 includes all events at no extra charge. Tier 2 includes an invite to festival, swag and all other member benefits, but for pop-up events, a per person fee is applied to cover our costs.  Tip 3 - Maximize LOC Events We work to schedule events well in advance so that you can organize your calendar. We recommend RSVPing early to minimize scheduling conflicts. Also be on the lookout for our latest member event: Oyster Farm Experiences . These are free to members and are an opportunity for you to see with the side of the club that leads up to our events. And if conditions are optimal to harvest, you will depart with 2-dozen free oysters! Another member benefit is the ability to bring friends to events using the members guest pass. The cost for bringing friends is the same price it is for members and is a great way to share the LOC experience with others. Tip 4 - Don't forget your wholesale oyster benefit This member benefit is self-explanatory. Of course, wholesale oysters do not shuck themselves so if you do not think you can take advantage of this benefit yourself, you can use an alternative technique: donate the benefit to friends. Upon your concurrence, we will gladly transfer your wholesale benefit to a friend. Your friend will enjoy a quality, world famous oysters at a great price. They will be very thankful! Tip 5 - Engage with LOC Content Enjoying oysters with other enthusiasts at our events is enhanced with thoughtful conversations. Leverage the members area and get smarter about oysters via the LOC news site . We do not produce a lot of news, but when we do, it is prompted by a question or information that we think will enhance your member experience. A very popular post this past summer was LOC's Oyster Theater which is a listing of video productions available on YouTube. We hope you will enjoy these films as much as we did. If you ever come across a worthwhile edition to the featured film lineup, please contact us . You can also follow us on our Instagram and/or try our mobile members app . If you have any follow up questions to the information above or in general, please reach out to us .

The following article draws information from "the Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell” by Mark Kurlansky This article was originally published in 2020, and it is being refreshed this summer season due to a number of common questions: What is the rationale for avoiding oysters during months without an "R"? I thought consuming oysters in late spring and summer was risky. Is that true? This convention is steeped in history. Julius Caesar is credited for manipulating the calendar so that “R”-less months organized a season to align with Roman’s passion for oysters. “R”-less months were strung together during the spring & summer when oysters were not as desirable and in doing so, created a convention for oysters to be “out of season”. He is also believed to have set leap years to occur in February, offering one added day of oyster season for all to enjoy. Like the produce we enjoy seasonally, the fact that breeding oysters lose their appetizing taste and appearance during this time instills an idea of an off-season. Also as a conservation measure, harvesting breeding oysters is discouraged during the warm spawning season to ensure future populations and harvests. Fast forward to the period of 1800-1900 in American history, when abundant and thriving natural resources clashed with the rapid expansion of the New World. This was particularly evident in New York City where an unregulated marketplace rose to meet consumer demand. The waters surrounding what is now Manhattan, similar to our Cheasapeake, were once so full of oysters that the natural resource was proclaimed infinite. Native Americans left plenty of evidence of their use of the bounty ( see previous newsletter article on oyster shell middens ) providing additional fuel for this misguided impression. And while oyster “seasons” remained, NYC had a new challenge: managing its population growth. Public infrastructure was inadequate to handle the city’s urban waste. The City soon contaminated local waters and consequentially, the oysters that lived there. The NYC Cholera outbreaks in the early 1850’s led to an “oyster panic” which prompted public officials to enforce old laws restricting oyster sales May-August in the interest of public health. By the late 1800s the prevailing medical view had also changed from blaming disease on poverty, immigration, and immortality to bacteria, sewage, and consuming contaminated shellfish. Public health officials started to see the filter-feeder oyster as a way to measure water quality and by the turn of the century and in in the wake of a Typhoid outbreak (w/Typhoid Mary playing a key role) oysters demonstrated that NYC was producing too much sewage to dump into the sea without consequence. Thus, what started out historically as a “season” influenced by preference in appetite and biological conservation, the seasonal idea evolved to incorporate public health themes based on water quality. This came by the new understanding that warmer months hasten bacterial growth, particularly in polluted waters, that can lead to shellfish contamination. Hybrid oysters (aka triploids) are purchased as seed of various sizes and are grown out in gear to protect them from predators. As hybrids never spawn, they continue to grow during the warm breeding season allowing them to reach market size (+/- 3”) in half the time as native oysters. Today, advances in breeding technology are able reproduce naturally occurring hybrid oysters called triploids that resist disease and that do not reproduce. This creates a viable year-round oyster market and renders the historical context of oyster “seasons” moot. This technology is credited with saving the oyster industry that prior to this advancement, pivoted on natural resources. As such, these triploids alleviate harvest pressure on native oysters which are now beginning to thrive again. For a deep dive into triploid technology, see: " So Long Triploids, Hello Creamy Oysters ", our adapted article by permission from Hakai Magazine . Even with this technology, it remains crucial to stay vigilant during the warmer months. In Virginia, regulations are adjusted from June to September to implement additional measures to protect oysters from warmer temperatures during harvests. Harvest vessels and equipment undergo inspections to ensure they meet the requirements for warm weather. The key principles governing the entire oyster supply chain are refrigeration and regulation, to further ensure oysters remain safe for consumption. Julie Qiu, the author of the renowned blog in a half shell , discusses this topic here . The Virginia Department of Health Division of Shellfish Sanitation (VDH DSS) and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) closely monitor water quality, alert the industry of closures due to excessive stormwater runoff and inspect shellfish producer's refrigeration and enforce regulations and laws to ensure public health. Growers like LOC can also employ best practices. See our article, The Environment and Food Safety , to learn more.

The same weather conditions that lead to beach closures can determine where we source our oysters. Advisories alerting beachgoers to harmful bacteria are nothing new, but rising heat and rainfall driven by climate change could make them more frequent. Click the image to read the full WHRO article by Katherine Hafner. A recent story by WHRO explains how the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) monitors water quality to issue swimming advisories. VDH's Division of Shellfish Sanitation (DSS) monitors water quality for a different reason: To make sure the shellfish that are harvested for human consumption are safe. The Lynnhaven Oyster Club's main farm is located in "Section C1" of the Lynnhaven's Eastern Branch and includes some areas that are closed to harvest and other areas that are conditionally open to harvest. What are the conditional factors that might close the farm to harvest? VDH DSS states: The conditionally classified area will be in closed status for 10 days following a rain event greater than 1.0 inches in a 24 hour period from 8 pm to 8 pm. For more information about our farm, see this post: Water Quality Rising. As local residents know, 2024 has been an extremely wet spring and Section C1 has been closed to harvest several times. These closures do not prevent us from doing other type of maintenance work on the farm, but if we do need oysters for member events or orders, our agreement with Chris Ludford of Pleasure House Oysters ( see our partner section ) is an enjoyable convenience. Frank readies gear for harvest, and agrees: "Working oysters along the pristine beaches of First Landing State Park in Broad Bay is a welcomed change of pace." In addition to added rainfall, high temperatures are a concern. See our post Hot Topic for a deep dive on how seasonal water temperatures can effect oysters and what we do about it. Regardless of where we or others harvest oysters, the regulations for harvest and the records the entire supply chain maintains are reviewed by authorities during inspections to certify dealers. Shellfish are one of the most highly regulated foods and for good reason: consumer protection . Yet consumers need to be educated also. Tempting as "fresh" seafood roadside looks, if tags like the one shown here are not attached to the food, one should be wary. We regularly ask for tags at restaurants that serve raw oysters to verify dates of harvest. If they can't provide it, we don't order them. You can also cross reference harvester information against the FDA’s Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List to ensure legitimacy. The Lynnhaven Oyster Club is unique in that we embody the entire supply chain from the farm to the table experience. As a certified shellfish grower and dealer, and because LOC's oysters never change hands until they reach members, we limit risk that can come from a complex supply chain with multiple points of vulnerability. And as you know, we are right there at the raw bar, inspecting every oyster we open with experienced and judgmental senses. If the eyes, ears and nose do not approve, it will never reach your plate. You will also notice a required consumer warning on our table and online menus. It states: *Raw Seafood Warning: Oysters on the half shell are raw. Slightly steamed and/or roasted oysters are considered undercooked. Consuming raw or undercooked oysters may increase your risk of food borne illness. Elderly or immune compromised persons should be especially careful. Per VA Code: 12VACS-421-930 This consumer warning is required because as recently explained during the Club's last inspection on July 30, 2024, the VDH DSS inspector said, "you can do everything right and there is still a possibility that someone could get sick." By adhering to regulations, acquiring our bi-annual certifications, and embracing a steadfast adherence to best practices from farm to table, LOC is dedicated to ensuring your safe enjoyment of one of the most coveted oysters on earth.

Monitoring data shows that our waters are trending warmer. How might this effect our local oysters ? As winter gives way to spring, oyster growers get excited for the start of the fast growing season. Seed purchased the previous season that grew to pre-harvest size in the fall will quickly reach market size and be ready for harvest and sale the following spring. Warmer waters in the spring & summer translate into more algae in the water for oysters to eat. If warmer waters benefit oyster growth, might warmer waters year-round be a positive trend? Indeed, warmer trends will certainly enhance the growing season allowing operators to turn more product for profit. However, there are two key concerns to warmer water trends to note: Some growers and scientists report higher mortality of some aquaculture species. Read more about this topic here. Public Health: The same warm water that promotes algae growth also sets the stage for the undesirable growth of certain bacteria. Vibrio species are natural to our coastal waters. During periods of elevated concentrations (typically mid-late summer), specific strains are a public health concern. V parahaemolyticus (Vp)  is the most common strain of Vibrio associated with infections from consuming raw seafood. The remainder of this article provides more information on this topic. Vibrio Forecasting Tool Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) forecast models produced by NOAA are being improved and expanded to help both consumers and industry stay informed of (Vp) trends and potential. The Virginia Department of Health Division of Shellfish Sanitation (VDH DSS) is responsible for regulating the shellfish industry to reduce consumer risk. VDH officials visit operators every 6 months to inspect equipment, review records, and issue operational certificates for compliance. For example, oyster tags are required for all harvests. Tags follow oysters from harvest to the point of consumption and are the means of tracking their origin and facilitating product recalls if an outbreak of infection occurs.  See this article to learn more about tags. While this might keep others from getting sick from the same harvest through a product recall, what about prevention? News of infection is devastating to the industry and keeping people well in the first place is obviously preferred. For this purpose, VDH also samples oysters for water quality and determines where and when one can harvest. For example, specific areas and times are off-limits for harvesting in order to control high-risk Vibrio concentrations. Adhering to these rules and regulations is key to ensuring public health. But growers can also use best practices to lower Vibrio exposure and your Lynnhaven Oyster Club operation is aligned with the latest research.  Researchers with the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn University’s Shellfish Research Lab investigate how handling practices, gear type, and geographic region can affect the levels of Vibrio in farmed oysters, as well as determining the re-submersion period required to return elevated levels of Vibrio in harvested oysters to normal. Study results show that all Vibrio types return to ambient levels after 7-14 days of re-submersion, regardless of handling type, gear type or region. This means that following routine handling treatment, farmers should allow the oysters to remain in the water for 14 days before harvesting for human consumption. These research findings demonstrate that unhealthy Vibrio counts are influenced more by non-aquatic environmental factors and processing time associated with both pre-harvest maintenance activities and out-of-water processing during harvests than the naturally occurring in-water concentrations. LOC adheres to a self-imposed best practice by separating and spacing all pre-harvest handling and processing steps from harvesting activity. Any interim handling of oysters for maintenance is dated and logged. This handling date initiates a 14-day moratorium on these oysters as they await a "harvest ready" green-light status by our tracking system. Once harvest readiness dates are reached we work our oysters in-water and in quantities that allow the harvest ready oysters to go from water to ice immediately, minimizing exposure to warm air temperatures and thereby suspending any Vibrio growth. Maintaining refrigeration temperature from point of harvest to end consumption is the next step in keeping Vibrio levels safe. A contrasting practice, particularly of larger operators, is to bring large quantities of oysters on deck to sort, clean and package, or to transport to a land-based processor to do the same. These activities increase risk by adding to the total time between the oyster’s in-water status to when the product can be put on ice or into mechanical refrigeration to reach the required temperature (45 degrees) within the required time (5 hours). For these operators that do not have refrigeration on-board their vessels, the clock is ticking. Also during the warmer months, shading devices are mandated and harvest curfews are activated to ensure oysters are off the water before daytime temperatures rise. While these rules and regulations drive standard practices that are dramatically different than LOC's best practices, they are still science-based and represent a successful system for protecting public health. If it was not successful, oyster-caused food-borne illness reports would increase and we would not see oysters on the menu year round. Bottom Line: Vibrio’s ability to exponentially multiply in warm environments is in opposition to the longer growing season that might result from warming trends. In other words, what might extend the oyster growing season might also close it to harvest. With climatic warming trends, positive and negative changes will result. While the industry can celebrate positive outcomes such as faster return on investment, operators can also responsibly respond ahead of government oversight and build best practices into their businesses. This way, the industry can demonstrate self-regulation and the cost of operations from necessary regulation and oversight is minimized. See Additional Measures LOC is tracking research and the commercial availability of Vibrio detecting field-tests. This test technology combined with using forecasting models and best harvest practices could ensure origin-related Vibrio concentrations are always within safe levels. Immediate post-harvest temperature control and monitoring will maintain this safe status to the point of consumption. Additional field testing at the point of service and/or consumption would ensure that safe in-water concentrations between harvest and consumption were maintained.