A SHUCKIN’ GOOD TIME

A A SHUCKIN' SHUCKIN' GOOD GOOD TIME TIME

SHUCKIN' SHUCKIN'

GOOD GOOD FAMILY AFFAIR. AT INDIAN RIVER OYSTER COMPANY, OYSTER FARMING IS A BY KARIN FABRY-CUSHENBERY Dennis and Ilonka David are nature lovers at heart. The former Ocala residents now reside in nearby New Smyrna Beach, the call of the water taking them out to the coast. Eventually their daughter, Jessica, and her husband, Ryan, followed. The couple, along with their children and grandchildren, would spend hours exploring and kayaking the waters of the Indian River Lagoon. “We enjoy kayak shing,” Dennis says. “In the course of a half day or so we would end up with two or three sh. To make it a bit more exciting, we would always stop at the oyster bars on the way back in and gather oysters. They don’t escape on us like the sh do!” Dennis and his son-in-law, Ryan Norris, would collect the oysters, throwing the smaller ones back into the water, usually in the same spot. “We did this regularly, every week or two, and TIME TIME the oysters really took and began growing. It became known as our own little oyster garden,” Dennis recalls. Fast-forward a few years and Dennis and Ilonka’s daughter and son in law, Jessica and Ryan, were interested in starting their own business venture. After tossing around countless ideas with Dennis and Ilonka, the topic turned to those oyster gardens once more. The notion to turn this accidental discovery into a career took o , and in 2017 the Indian River Oyster Company was established. A true family venture, Dennis, Ryan, Ilonka and Jessica all serve as co-owners, working together to accomplish the daily tasks of the farm.

The Indian River Oyster Company, IROC for short, leases a total of 7.5 acres of water bottom from the state. The oysters grown on the farm make their way to local restaurants and stores and are also sold in bulk to members of the general public. But not before being carefully tended to for nearly a year.

“It takes eight to 10 months, sometimes a year, for an oyster to grow to 3 inches from a seed,” Dennis says. “We purchase our seeds, about 600,000 to 1 million each year, from hatcheries.”

To protect the seedlings and give them the best opportunity to grow, IROC places the seeds in small mesh bags and oats them on the top of the water’s surface. As the seeds develop, they are split and placed in larger bags to allow ample room for the water to ow through the bag, encouraging the oysters’ growth. As they get bigger, they compete for both space in the bag and food, so they are once again split and placed in larger bags.

“We don’t feed the oysters,” Dennis says.

“They eat algae and phytoplankton that collect at the surface of the water. There is a greater volume of food on the water’s surface, so we give the oysters optimal growing opportunity. Plus, in between and all along the way, we are ipping the bags in the water, allowing them to dry out a little. If they aren’t ipped, algae and barnacles can grow on the shell.” At any given time, the family has 3,000 bags in the water, so you can imagine the amount of time it takes to hand ip each bag.

About a month into the process an aluminum tube known as a tumbler is used to turn and separate the oysters by size. The various tubes are 4 feet long and have di erent size holes drilled into them. The smaller oysters fall through the holes, and the larger oysters travel through the tube to a collection area below. The idea is to keep like-sized oysters together. The process is repeated several times before the oysters are harvested.

“Tumbling the oysters encourages them to grow deeper into their shell rather than outward by breaking o the ends of the shell,” says Dennis. “Oysters grow from the tips in, so growing deep rather than wide creates more meat inside the shell. Typically, an oyster should grow to 3 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1 inch deep before being harvested.”

Once harvested, the oysters make their way to IROC’s state-certi ed processing facility.

A wildlife biologist for 30 years with the state of Florida prior to retiring and starting the farm, Dennis, along with the rest of the family, is very ecologically and environmentally conscious. With that in mind, the team set out to not only provide quality shell sh to the community but to educate people on the bene ts of growing and harvesting oysters.

“Adult oysters can lter about 50 gallons of water each day,” says Dennis. “If you have a million oysters, that’s 50,000,000 gallons of water getting cleaned and ltered every day. By controlling the algae and plankton growth, the oysters are encouraging a healthy ecosystem.”

Too much algae can create an algal bloom, which shades out the water, preventing sea grasses from growing and sometimes causing sh kills.

IROC really focuses on the ecological aspects of oyster farming, and one of the best ways to educate the public is to bring people to the farm to see it rsthand.

The farm’s rst tour was o ered in conjunction with Volusia County, which provides countless options for agritourism throughout the community.

THE ALMIGHTY OYSTER

Did you know there were plenty of health benefi ts to eating oysters?

Oysters are high in vitamin D, copper, zinc & manganese. High in potassium and magnesium, oysters can help lower blood pressure and increase circulation & oxygenation. Packed with iron, oysters help with formulating red blood cells, boost the body’s metabolic rate & help defend against conditions like anemia. Oysters have been known to assist with testosterone production, and boost dopamine, a hormone that increases libido in both women & men.

“That rst tour was a great success, and it got us thinking that this is something we could do every month or so,” says Dennis.

Today, IROC partners with a local nonpro t, the Marine Discovery Center, to o er paddling tours of their extensive underwater farm. Interested parties can choose the tour they want, register and pay online streamlining the whole process. Guests are also welcome to bring their own kayak, canoe or paddleboard.

“Being a biologist, I explain the perils of living in the wild versus the life of luxury that our oysters enjoy,” laughs Dennis. “Along the tour we also explain the value of the estuaries of a wild reef. Just like a coral reef o shore,

an inshore oyster reef provides a habitat for a variety of species of shrimp, crab and more. Each of these are important prey items for medium- and large-size sh. The whole circle of life is occurring.

“The life cycle of an oyster is also shared,” adds Dennis. “They spawn in the water. When one releases an egg, they all do. Those eggs spend 21 days oating up and down in the water column, near the surface during the day and down toward the bottom in the evening. After 21 days they are looking for a place to settle. The oysters actually grow a little foot out of the bottom of them that can taste calcium carbonate, which is what oyster shells are made from. It’s a good adaptation they developed because once they nd other oysters it’s like realizing ‘hey, other oysters grew here, so I have the likelihood to have a good life here, too.’”

The tour takes, on average, between two and a half and three hours and even a ords the opportunity for guests to get out of their kayaks if comfortable. Once to the farm, the water depth, depending on the tide, is about waist deep. You’ll see and learn about all the tools used in harvesting oysters, including the tumbler. Another fun aspect is watching the tour guide use a oating table to shuck fresh oysters. You can even try them if you’re feeling adventurous. If it happens to be wild oyster season, you could taste and compare the two right on the tour.

“People are usually pleasantly surprised and like them,” says Dennis. “I always ask would you eat another one, and usually the answer is yes.”

Of course, if you don’t like it, no one would fault you for spitting it out, either.

“Our avor pro le is one of the best out there,” he adds. “It’s briny and a little sweet. We o er plump, healthy oysters.”

Dennis says there’s been a growing trend in the seafood world to try oysters from various locations to taste the di erence.

“Just like wine, oysters take on the flavor of their locale,” he says. “Even other farmers who taste our oysters comment on the great taste.”

Once the adventures at the farm have concluded, the guides take a di erent route back to shore to share the scenery, and it’s not uncommon to see dolphins playing in the water. From time to time, guests are also greeted by a manatee or two.

Once on shore, make sure you pick up some fresh shell sh from IROC, which are typically available in 50- and 100-count bags. Jessica says they would all likely agree that they like them “naked” the best, but they are always up for trying new recipes. Check out one of her favorites above.

“Raw, cooked, steamed, fried, they are delicious any way you eat them,” says Dennis.

“Ultimately, IROC’s goal is to provide the very best oysters possible while working to improve the water quality in the Indian River Lagoon,” he adds.

And that’s exactly what they’re doing.

CARAMELIZED, BOURBON SMOKED OYSTERS

• Oysters • 1 sweet onion • 1/4 cup bourbon

Start with caramelizing your sweet onions. // Turn your smoker on medium heat (250°F at max heat). // Shuck your oysters, leaving the top shell off. Do not drain juice. // When onions are close to done, pour 1/4 cup of your favorite bourbon into the pan, and continue to cook less than 5 minutes. // Take this mixture and spoon onto each oyster. // Uncovered, smoke the oysters for 30-40 minutes. ENJOY!

Indian River Oyster Company // For paddle tours and shuck-at-home opportunities, contact Indian River Oyster Company // irocoysters.com // (386) 402-0492