A new website dedicated to Alabama oysters
OystersAlabama.com features a list of Alabama oyster farms as well as wholesale processors and distributors who carry aquaculture-raised Alabama oysters. (contributed)
Alabama’s oysters have a new fan page.
OystersAlabama.com is a website recently developed by the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) to promote oysters raised and farmed in the waters of coastal Alabama. Henry Perkins, business resource manager for MBNEP, says the website was designed to grow Alabama’s oyster farming industry.
“There wasn’t anything specifically to promote oysters themselves, which is a hole that needed to be filled,” he said. “There’s plenty of restaurants down here on the coast that are serving oysters and there’s plenty of people going to the store to buy oysters, but there is not a lot of knowledge at that kind of base level about where those oysters are coming from.”
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OystersAlabama.com features a list of Alabama oyster farms as well as wholesale processors and distributors who carry aquaculture-raised Alabama oysters. Perkins said providing this information in one online location makes it easy for restaurants and stores to find local oysters.
“The purpose is to link wholesalers and retailers to the sources so they know who to ask for and what to get,” Perkins said. “It’s here to just feature some of the farms, to feature some of the wild catchers and to encourage folks to go out to a restaurant, order oysters and ask your waiter where they come from.”
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Perkins said he’s had more than a half-dozen distributors reach out to him since the website launched earlier this year, asking him to connect them with Alabama oyster farmers. He hopes the website will continue to grow demand for Alabama oysters.
“I would like to see people use this website as a launching point for all things oyster,” Perkins said. “I would like to see a general appreciation for this high-quality, ecologically-friendly protein that we are creating, that is filtering our waters, protecting our shorelines and is really great to eat.”
Oysters thrive in the waters of coastal Alabama because the southern climate allows for year-round harvest, and the flourishing bays and estuaries provide plenty of nutrition and protection that enhances the coastal landscape. As a result, Alabama’s oyster reefs have historically harvested an average of 1 million pounds of oysters per year and have made the state one of the top oyster-producers in the nation for more than a century.
“We’ve got dozens and dozens of oystermen who are harvesting oysters off of our reefs, but those oysters are not always eaten in Alabama,” Perkins said. “Part of the ‘Eat Local’ movement demands that we ask where are our oysters coming from and how can we support this unique economy?”
To learn more about Alabama oysters or to connect with an Alabama oyster farmer, processor or distributor, visit OystersAlabama.com.
