Virginia’s oyster aquaculture industry continued to expand rapidly last year as farmers reported a 34 percent increase in sales of the Chesapeake Bay delicacy.
Farmers sold a record 16.9 million oysters in 2010, according to a new report from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point. That’s up from 12.6 million in 2009 and 20 times the 800,000 sold in 2005.
The expansion is due to the development of a fast-growing, disease-resistant oyster seed that is sold by several hatcheries on the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck. Also, farmers have adopted more sophisticated practices, including placing oysters in cages and floats that protect the mollusks from predators.
“Oysters are looking pretty good,” said Thomas Murray, a seafood economist at VIMS who co-wrote the report.
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