Tide to Table
One Local Oyster Farm ’ s Contribution to Helping the Indian River Lagoon Thrive
by Seraine Page
It all started with an oyster garden . The tradition began five years ago . After a day of kayaking along the Indian River Lagoon , Dennis David and his family would stop for fresh oysters . They ’ d eat them together and the smaller oysters got tossed back .
“ We would do family kayak trips to go fishing and just enjoy the water with our kids and grandkids ,” says David . “ We always schedule time on our way paddling to stop at our favorite wild oyster reefs to collect oysters for us to eat .”
After a while , they noticed oysters clustering where they would deposit the smaller ones not worth eating . “ Lo and behold , there were a bunch of oysters there ,” David says . The garden got David ’ s daughter and son-in-law — Jessica and Ryan Norris — thinking . At one point , they had wanted to open a restaurant in the New Smyrna Beach area . Upon seeing the watery garden of oysters , they thought , “ why not try our hand at oyster farming ?”
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