In the absence of natural oyster reefs, due to overharvesting which took place throughout the 1800s and into the early 1900s, Off Bottom Culture has become the most common method of oyster farming in our area.
In the use of OBC, growers source hatchery spawned oyster seeds and place them in various types of aquaculture equipment, some of which float on the surface, and some of which reside just several inches off the sea floor. The equipment deployed is typically selected based on each farm sites unique characteristics such as depth, tidal flow, vegetation, and of course the personal work preference of the farmer.