Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula Oyster Fairs Go Well

Both Fairs were a success.  At the Northern Neck Fair on May 2, over 100 attended and 171,000 spat were sold.  At the Middle Peneinsula Fair on May 16, many folks were purchasing spat (over 118,000) and aquaculture gear.  Many left after purchasing their supplies, but over 60 stayed for the interesting presentation.  Many thanks to Dr. Lynton Land and Chan Chandler for the hard work.  Their presentation described preferred practices of oyster grow out, and gave many helpful and new ideas about equipment.  Also, recent events concerning the Asian Oyster experiment and other oyster-related news were discussed. Click here for the Slide Show.

Spring Oyster Fairs May 2 & May 16, 2009

The Tidewater Oyster Gardeners Association will hold two Oyster Fairs this spring.The Northern Neck Oyster Fair will be held at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church on Rt. 200 at the north end of Kilmarnock, west side of the road on Saturday, May 2. The Middle Peninsula Oyster Fair will be held at Christchurch School on Rt. 33 in Saluda on Saturday, May 16. Both begin at 10:00AM and are open to the public with no pre-registration required. Vendors of oyster gardening equipment and supplies are invited to display their wares for sale at both locations beginning at about 9:00AM. Both Fairs are "seminars" addressing the question, "What is the best way for citizens to grow oysters?" Many techniques are available. e.g. in floats, in bags attached to a pier or other structure, and in bottom cages. For people who want to become oyster gardeners, these discussions will help them decide how to get started. Several kinds of oyster spat will be available but you are urged to pre-order from Middle Peninsula Aquaculture at (804) 725-0159.

People who have oyster gardening experience are urged to attend and share their wisdom. If you have been growing oysters, what works for you? What doesn't work? What advice would you give to people who want to get started? If you want to send images to project, email them (files no larger than about 1 Mb - 1024 x 768) to Lynton Land at JandL@nnwifi.com. Feel free to bring gear, or prints, or photos on CD or flash drive and be prepared to speak briefly.

At both meetings we will provide updates on issues such as introducing the non-native oyster Crassostrea ariakensis, the construction of local hatcheries, spat-on-shell, nutrient trading, etc. If you have questions contact Lynton Land by email or at (804) 453-6605 or Chan Chandler at chanshel@crosslink.net or (804) 725-5898.