Jim and Bonnie Swartzenberg gather oysters in Stump Sound. 



"These oysters are from Mississippi, " 

 says David Knox, the festival organizer. 

 "We have been getting oysters out of state 

 for eight years. We get about 200 bushels 

 for the festival. It is hard to get anyone 

 around here to guarantee that many 

 oysters." 



The vanishing oysters on the Newport 

 River is a familiar scenario in other North 

 Carolina rivers and creeks — from Harlowe 

 Creek in Carteret County to Lockwood 

 Folly River in Brunswick County. 



At the turn of the century, North 

 Carolina produced almost two million 

 bushels of oysters a year. By the 1920s and 

 1930s, annual production had declined to 

 about 300,000 bushels. In 1998, 44,613 

 bushels of oysters were harvested in North 

 Carolina compared to 225,000 bushels in 

 1987, according to the N.C Division of 

 Marine Fisheries (DMF). 



"From 1900 to 

 1945, overharvesting 

 and harvesting 

 methods had a lot to 

 do with the decline of 

 the oyster industry," 

 says Mike Marshall, 

 DMF central district 

 manager. "After 

 1988,Dermo(a 

 naturally occurring 

 parasite) has greatly 

 affected the oyster 

 industry. In between, 

 there has been a lot of 

 habitat loss and water 

 quality has been 

 affected." 



To address the 

 oyster crisis, the N.C. 

 Blue Ribbon 

 Advisory Council on 

 Oysters was initiated 

 in 1992. The 

 recommendations 

 included more 

 support for maricul- 

 ture or fish farming. 

 North Carolina Sea 

 Grant has been on the 

 forefront of 

 educating fishers 

 about mariculture techniques. 



The council also addressed protecting 

 and restoring oyster habitats, improving 

 coastal water quality and developing 

 disease-resistant strains. 



Though few of the recommendations 

 have been implemented, they are being 

 considered by the DMF for the long-term 

 oyster management plan. The Fisheries 

 Reform Act of 1997 mandates that the 

 state establish management plans for 

 oysters and other major fisheries. 



"The plan will be finished in October 

 2000," says Marshall. "One of the most 

 important parts of the plan is managing 

 oysters around diseases. Another contro- 

 versial issue is using non-native species in 

 North Carolina waters." 



The public information document, 

 which came out in September, recom- 

 mends stock assessment of oysters. 



The state has good data on commer- 

 cial harvesting of oysters, according to 

 Marshall. "However, we are not going to 

 get an accurate picture of oyster harvesting 

 data until we get a program in place for 

 recreational harvesting. It is particularly 

 important in the southern part of the state. 

 Anybody, including those who live 

 outside the state, can take a bushel of 

 oysters per day for consumption during 

 the open harvest season." 



Marshall says fishers also voice 

 concerns about the state's leasing 

 programs. North Carolina has 295 

 shellfish bottom leases for oysters and 

 clams covering 2,204 acres, according to 

 the DMF. About 500,000 acres are 

 suitable for cultivation. 



The two top oyster-producing states 

 in 1998 — Louisiana and Washington — 

 have culture or lease systems. Louisiana 

 has 403,000 acres in private leases. 

 Washington allows a non-native species, 

 Crossostrea gigas, to be cultured on 

 private leases, significantly increasing 

 production. Connecticut, which ranked 

 fifth in overall production in 1998, has 

 30,146 acres leased for shellfish. 



Even though leaseholders in North 

 Carolina have posted signs in the water, 

 the state doesn't offer much protection 

 against poachers. 



Jim and Bonnie Swartzenberg, who 

 have several leases scattered across Stump 

 Sound near Topsail Island, have had 

 problems with recreational fishers using 

 their beds. 



"Some people get the idea that 

 everything is free," says Jim 

 Swartzenberg, who owns J&B AquaFood 

 in Jacksonville. "They don't care about 

 our leases. They think they can wade out 

 and help themselves to our oysters." 



As the state develops its management 

 plan, Culpepper and other fishers have 

 numerous ideas on reviving the industry. 



"For oysters to be productive and 

 come back in North Carolina you can't 

 rely on Mother Nature," says Culpepper. 

 "I would like to see the state do more seed 

 planting. The Division of Marine Fisheries 

 is loaded with biologists who could spawn 

 oysters and transplant the seeds." 



8 WINTER 2000 



