North Carolina’s Oyster Boom

For generations, North Carolina’s oyster industry was underdeveloped. This changed in the late 19^th century when North Carolina oyster beds attracted attention following overharvesting in the Chesapeake Bay and the nation’s insatiable appetite for oysters. By the late 1880s, North Carolina oystermen and fish dealers were benefiting from an expanding oyster industry. The incredible profits that oysters yielded motivated Baltimore and Norfolk capitalists to move their oyster canneries and packhouses to coastal North Carolina. Controversy quickly arose as North Carolina watermen felt that the state’s oyster fishery was being monopolized and overharvested by out-of-state businesses and oystermen. The North Carolina legislature stepped in to regulate the industry, however, it struggled to formulate policy that balanced both conservation and business. By the early 20^th century, North Carolina’s oyster fishery became overharvested, and it has never fully recovered.

Join Maritime Historian David Bennett for the free presentation held in the museum auditorium and livestreamed on Zoom. The program is presented in partnership with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. The programs focus on the history of four different fisheries in North Carolina as part of the DMF celebration of 200 Years of State Marine Fisheries Management and Conservation in North Carolina.