2019 N.C. Oyster Summit Set for March 12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Erin Fleckenstein, N.C. Coastal Federation, erinf@nccoast.org or 252-473-1607
Katie Mosher, North Carolina Sea Grant, kmosher@ncsu.edu or 919-515-9069

North Carolina Sea Grant is among the planning partners and cosponsors for the 2019 North Carolina Oyster Summit. Speakers will include Chuck Weirich, Sea Grant’s marine aquaculture specialist, along with researchers funded by Sea Grant projects and partners in mariculture outreach.

RALEIGH – The ongoing quest to make North Carolina the world’s Napa Valley of oysters will be on full display in March.

Oyster growers, fishermen, government officials, lawmakers, academics and conservation interests will gather to taste and learn more about the state’s oysters and other shellfish during the 2019 North Carolina Oyster Summit.

Set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 12 at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, participants will discuss how to establish the state as the epicenter of a rapidly expanding worldwide movement promoting the growth and consumption of oysters. A reception will follow from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Transfer Co. Food Hall, also in downtown Raleigh.

“This summit is a chance to bring together people who are interested in and care about oyster restoration and mariculture efforts in the state,” says Erin Fleckenstein of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, one of the summit organizers. “We’ll celebrate the great progress that has been made in our state over the past two years and start to chart the course for what comes next.”

The summit will illustrate progress in advancing shellfish efforts in the state. North Carolina has achieved goals that address habitat creation and water quality protection, developed a strategic shellfish mariculture plan, and conducted the policy, research and planning that help to make such progress possible.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation and partners — North Carolina Sea Grant, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, and the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries — organized the forum.

N.C. DEQ Secretary Michael Regan will provide opening remarks. Regan has demonstrated the department’s commitment to restoring wild oyster populations, growing the state’s mariculture industry and promoting clean coastal waters by announcing in 2018 the state’s participation in NOAA’s National Shellfish Initiative.

A series of panel presentations will explore the recommendations of the recently completed state Strategic Mariculture Plan that was requested by and submitted to the N.C. General Assembly in December. Also planned is an important discussion on the value of clean water to ensure the continued success of all restoration, rehabilitation and mariculture efforts.

The summit is sponsored in part by Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, Grady White Boats, the Kenan Institute, Restoration Systems, Rob Lamme & Associates, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Sea Grant, Fred Adams Paving, Backwater Environmental, and Little Environments, PLLC.

Summit registration and reception tickets are available at nccoast.org/oystersummit. The site also provides provides the event agenda.

For more information about the summit, contact Erin Fleckenstein at erinf@nccoast.org or 252-473-1607.

Additional summit sponsorship opportunities are available. Please contact Catherine Snead at catherines@nccoast.org to sponsor the summit.

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