Coming out of its shell: Alaska oyster industry flourishes

The Eat Alaska Project is a partnership of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and Alaska Grown.

Oysters are low in fat, high in protein and rich in minerals. They contain more cold, flu and age-fighting zinc than any other food source, with enough in a half serving (three oysters) to account for an adult's daily dosage. They are an aphrodisiac besides, most effective consumed raw.

If you weren't sold at age-fighting or aphrodisiac, you might be at Alaska-grown.

A healthy shellfish industry in Kachemak Bay is producing cold climate oysters for local, state and nationwide distribution, and among the producers in the bay, Greg and Weatherly Bates are especially ambitious. Owners of Glacier Point Seafood in Halibut Cove, the couple is aiming to produce a million oysters per year by 2020. Along with their young children Rockwell and Vera, the family has created a lifestyle around sustainable shellfish farming.

Both from Rhode Island, Greg and Weatherly studied aquaculture and fisheries technology at the University of Rhode Island, then moved to Maine, where they spent four years managing a shellfish farm of mostly oysters, as well as some clams and mussels.

"We got married, honeymooned in Alaska and decided to see if we could find jobs here," Weatherly said.

In 2007, they began managing a farm in Kachemak Bay, and they oversaw three other farms as well as an oyster nursery over the next four years. In 2010, the couple started their own shellfish farm that now harvests 300,000 oysters a year. It takes three to four years to grow a Kachemak Bay oyster, and due to a West Coast seed shortage resulting from ocean acidification several years ago, Weatherly said they are harvesting below capacity this year.

"Seed was the limiting factor in our production," she said. But with a 22-acre lease, "We have enough gear and acreage to produce a million oysters."

The seed shortage, however, spurred their diversification into mussels last year, and they are now the only* mussel producer in Alaska. "More and more, mussels are catching on," Bates said. "They provide the highest source of protein per cup; there is an abundance of seed; and they take only two years to grow."

Although oysters require twice the time, the Bates family has found them to be well worth the wait. The advantage of Kachemak Bay oysters, Weatherly said, is the glacier-fed, high-saline water. The conditions make for a plump, sweet oyster to rival any from New England.

The process involves starting the oysters with seed from a hatchery, raising them in suspended trays and tumbling them to enhance their growth. The Bateses harvest by hand year-round, targeting local vendors during the summer months, and marketing themselves as a boutique oyster fishery to Outside distributors during the wintertime. While the couple sells directly to local chefs via the Coal Point Seafood Company in Homer, and to New Sagaya and 10th and M Seafoods in Anchorage for distribution across Alaska, their oysters are also well received in major cities from Boston to San Francisco.

"Raw bars want to carry 10 different oysters," she said. "To have an Alaska oyster is really unique."

As the couple promotes the shellfish industry in Alaska, Weatherly serves on the board of directors of the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association and the Alaska Shellfish Growers Association, and she says she knows exactly why Alaskans should eat more oysters:

"Because it's really the healthiest thing you can do for the ocean," she said. "(Oysters) filter things; they convert algae into protein; and oyster farming creates an ecosystem for other creatures." Enough creatures, in fact, to supply Homer's Pratt Museum with a lot of the sea life for their aquarium, she added.

"You're not taking anything to grow (shellfish), just giving back," she said. "Coming from the East Coast where the fisheries are so overfished, I just want to help the ocean."

Her answer to that question was as perfect as her response to the next: What's her favorite way to eat an oyster?

"Raw," she said, without hesitation or qualification.

The following recipe, with a couple of sassy accoutrements, will help you enjoy them just the same.

Bloody Mary Alaskan Oysters with Pickled Vegetables

Courtesy of Chef Drew Johnson, Kincaid Grill, Anchorage

Start to finish: 2 hours (plus pickling time)

Servings: 12 oysters

1 dozen Alaska oysters

Pickled Alaska grown vegetables (see recipe)

Bloody Mary granita (see recipe)

Pickled vegetables:

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 Alaska grown cucumber, cut into small dice

4 stalks Alaska grown celery, cut into small dice

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, bay leaves and peppercorns in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil; set aside. Place vegetables in a heatproof bowl; pour hot vinegar mixture over the top. Allow to sit for at least 24 hours. Store in refrigerator up to three days.

Bloody Mary granita:

4 Alaska grown tomatoes

6 ounces smoked salmon vodka*

1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1-2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

4-6 dashes Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch ground white pepper

*Replace the smoked salmon vodka with plain or pepper vodka, if desired.

Cut tomatoes into quarters. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a shallow container; freeze for at least two hours. Every 30 minutes or so, scrape the ice crystals with a fork to create a fluffy texture.

To assemble:

Shuck oysters; separate oyster from shell, leaving oyster in shell. Scrape granita with a fork and place a heaping teaspoon onto each oyster. Stir pickled vegetables and garnish oysters. Serve immediately.

*Correction: edited to remove reference to the Bates family as the "first and only" mussel producers in Alaska.

This story is sponsored by the Eat Alaska Project. Make this dish and post a photo on social media! Tag it with #eatalaska.

This article was produced by the special content department of Alaska Dispatch News in collaboration with Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and Alaska Grown. The ADN newsroom was not involved in its production.?