An Oyster Life (Blog) — Aquaculture

Oysters are beautiful, fascinating creatures. We may be a little biased but we think they’re one of the more incredible sea animals the Chesapeake Bay has to offer. Their storied history and the culture that’s grown around them make them something worth appreciating. Like many others– there’s always something new for us to learn about oysters. Check out these fun oyster facts:z Oysters have been around for approximately 15 million years. This makes them relatively young when you consider that crabs have been on the planet for 450 million years, predating dinosaurs. Not all oysters make pearls. While edible oysters...

Meteorologically speaking, the first day of spring is March 1st. Tell that to an oyster farmer from Virginia to Prince Edward Island and you will most likely get a good laugh.  Winters can be long and hard on the water and we farmers look forward to the early signs of spring ☀️ In Virginia, April is a month where we begin to hear early morning bird chatter, we feel the warming waters and we see some slight shell development on the new oyster stock. The warming waters give birth to the rich algae that are the cornerstone of the Chesapeake’s ecosystem...

As we enter the time of spring renewal, we know you’re itching to get outside, fire up the grill, and have your friends over for some good times in the backyard. Freshly shucked White Stone Oysters are the perfect complement to any backyard hangout. We’ve got tons of recipes on our site to help you prep the oysters in a myriad of ways but sometimes the best method is just to shuck, slurp and enjoy.  Watch the video below to get a crash course in shucking your White Stone Oysters, then head over to our website to order a beautiful...

On the Chesapeake we have been lucky the past two years to have experienced relatively mild winters. 2022 things have kicked up a notch as expected.  Exposed on the Chesapeake Bay, White Stone is subject to all of mothers nature's fury. The cold temperatures are not fun but they can be managed with a few extra layers of clothes. What gives us the real challenge managing an oyster farm over the winter are the rushing winds of Nor’easters.   Nor’easters (named from the direction of the storm's wind) are low pressure winter storms that typically form 100 miles off the US eastern coasts...

My name is Tom Perry and I dreamt up the idea for White Stone from my kayak in the spring of 2013. My mission since day one has been to grow the very best oyster on the Chesapeake Bay. I believed that finding the absolute ideal location and implementing the proper growing method was going to be fundamental to achieving this task. In 2014 we delivered our very first oyster to the Homestead Resort in Western Virginia and we haven’t looked back since.  We now regularly sell millions of oysters per year and in December of 2021, sent individual boxes...

One of our ongoing missions at White Stone Oyster Co. is finding ways to Better the Bay. Not only do we make our livelihood from these waters, but we also care deeply for this region, its ecology and its people. To that end, we want to share these helpful tips from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation on how you can celebrate the holidays while protecting the Chesapeake Bay. Buy local! We know everyone says this, but it truly makes a huge difference. The Chesapeake region’s industries were hit hard by COVID-19 and every dollar counts. Veggies, oysters, seafood and more can...

As part of the largest aquaculture industry on the east coast, we take our role in protecting the Chesapeake Bay seriously. Not only does a clean bay produce better oysters, but it’s important to us that we continue restoring this area into the thriving ecosystem it one was. At the time of a 2019 study, the wild oyster population was less than 1% of what it was historically. This creates a toxic buildup of algae and nutrients that choke the waterway. By introducing farmed oysters like ours, we can begin to filter the bay. On average, 100,000 oysters can remove...