Captain tom oyster spat for sale license#

“Very little will go to the growers,” said Ana Zivanovic-Nenadovic, assistant director of policy for the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

Captain tom oyster spat for sale license#

Most of that is expected to be doled out to more than 5,600 commercial fisher license holders. waters, such as shellfish leases, hatcheries and nurseries.Ĭommercial fishermen and marine aquaculture businesses that have lost more than 35% of revenue between March 1 and May 31 as a direct or indirect result of the pandemic as compared to the previous five-year average will receive a little more than $3.3 million. Participants include resident commercial fishermen, seafood processors and dealers, for-hire fishing businesses and privately owned marine aquaculture businesses that grow products in state or federal U.S. Oyster farmers are eligible to receive a portion, though small, of more than $5 million North Carolina received as a part of a $300 million allocation from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to states, tribes and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants. Department of Agriculture’s list of specialty crops, leaving shellfish farmers out of the running to receive federal aid afforded other farmers, including the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP.

Oyster farmers are among the ranks of numerous American growers who’ve experienced tremendous crop losses as a result of the pandemic. Even the ones that did pivot to takeout, people just generally aren’t comfortable buying or selling raw shellfish for takeout.

Most high-end and middle-tier restaurants aren’t normally involved in the takeout business. “Everyone – East Coast, West Coast – once COVID-19 shut down restaurants pretty much all growers saw their sales drop between 95 and 100%,” said Chris Matteo, East Coast Shellfish Growers Association North Carolina representative.

Oyster sales in North Carolina and other coastal states throughout the country tanked when restaurants halted dine-in service in March as part of the effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. Ken Styron tends to his oyster farm off Cedar Island.