Farmed and caught: Virginia seafood is thriving
NASSAWADOX, Va. (WFXR) — Seafood is a $1 billion-a-year industry in Virginia. Some Virginia seafood like oysters and trout are farmed. Some, like drum, flounder, scallops, crabs, and clams are caught or harvested.
Seafood in Virginia is managed and regulated by The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
Many Virginia restaurants depend on the local bounty.
“Oysters, local salty seasides fresh, you can’t beat them,” said Great Machipongo Clam Shack Manager Lisa MacGarvey.
The Clam Shack is located in Nassawadox and specializes in local seafood. In addition to oysters, MacGarvey says crabs are also a top seller.
“All of that resource is here fresh and local,” said MacGarvey.
Ray Twiford is a commercial fisherman and restaurant owner near Chincoteague.
“I wouldn’t trade it for a desk job,” said Twiford.
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He spends long days on the job. His mornings start on the water when he nets fish or harvests other seafood. He then processes and keeps it refrigerated. He then sells his catch at a seafood market he operates, or at his restaurant Ray’s Shanty. Fish that were swimming in the morning are often on a plate that night.
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“I catch my own drum, spot, rockfish; I catch a lot of different fish,” said Twiford.
While there are some corporate seafood operations in Virginia, the majority of the industry is still made of small businesses and independent watermen. Quality is excellent and demand is high.
Oysters have been a particularly good comeback story. Two decades ago, Virginia’s oyster industry was on the verge of collapse. Disease, pollution, and habitat destruction have taken a toll. With improved management practices, oyster numbers and quality have rebounded. Virginia is now the top oyster producer on the East Coast and the fourth-largest seafood producer in the country.
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However, there are not as many young people going into commercial seafood harvest. Twiford says he has worked with state agencies in the past to try to reverse that.
It is vital for the industry to continue to thrive and grow. Virginia’s seafood is responsible for thousands of jobs directly and through support businesses.
While the focus is on saltwater harvest, there is also freshwater harvest going on. Southwest Virginia is home to trout farming and shrimp farming, and soon there will be a salmon farming operation completed in Tazewell and Russell Counties.
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