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| Monster oyster harvested 10-16 feet deep. |
I finally found Bradley Lawn, a young Marine veteran who says he's the original commercial oyster diver. A third-generation commercial fisherman, Bradley has been fishing the estuaries, creeks, inlets and oceans of North Carolina his whole life. A few years ago, he started spearfishing, a growing sport in the Carolinas that requires you to hold your breath for what seems like too long while you dive, find, and literally spear a fish. At first, he could only hold his breath for several seconds. Now, he can hold his breath up to 3 1/2 minutes at a time.
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| Bradley Lawn dives for oysters in the estuaries of North Carolina. Bradley can hold his breath more than three minutes while diving up to 16 feet to find oysters. |
What started as a hobby has turned into a full-time business with his wife, Kristie. (Oyster chica. Yea!) He's the diver. She's the "oyster designer." Every weekday from November through March, the couple heads out to their favorite inlet to harvest oysters. (They told me the approximate location, but every good fisherman keeps his honey holes to himself. I'll keep their secret as well.) With nothing more than a wetsuit, a snorkel, a mask and an oyster basket, Bradley jumps into the frigid waters to collect oysters from the bottom of the channel. When he pops out of the water, he hands the freshly caught oysters to his wife onboard their boat. Kristie then gives the oysters an ocean rinse, another unique feature of their oyster operation. Instead of washing and tumbling the oysters on land with fresh, chlorinated, salt-free water, Kristie (with some muscle from Bradley) washes the oysters on-the-spot with ocean water. She then sorts the oysters directly into customer order baskets, which are delivered directly to their customers the same day. The next day, they do it all over again.
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| Kristie and Bradley Lawn work together to harvest wild oysters. |
There are much easier ways to collect wild oysters. Most enthusiastic hobbyists and small commercial fishermen wade out at low tide or drive their boat to an easily accessible inlet to grab their quota for the day. In North Carolina, oysters must be three inches to be legally kept. The Lawns dive for oysters that are a foot long - or more. At depths of 10-16 feet, the oysters are older and have a safer environment to grow. The foot long oyster bushels are in huge demand from area restaurant and they are eager to buy the oddities.
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| This Topsail Sound oyster is more than a foot long. |
Kristie and Bradley are as nice and gentle and giving as they come. (She won't eat scallops or shrimp because they are too cute.) They both believe that helping the community that helps them is good for everyone. Often, they will dive for and donate fish or oysters to firehouses, veterans groups and other charities. But they get rankled when they talk about their imitators. Anyone with a commercial fishing license can dive for oysters, but not everyone can deliver the superior quality or customer service that they have built their business on. And oyster diving is just the beginning of their oyster business. The entrepreneurs are currently working to lease water acres from North Carolina to start their own oyster farm and they have an invention or two in the works that may help out the process.
Good luck Kristie and Bradley!
Shuckin Good Times sells out every day. Call or text a few days in advance to see if you can get on their list. Bushels of their Premium Select Oysters (8 in. or more) are $70 delivered; Select Oysters (4-8 in.) are $45.
CONTACT INFO:
Shuckin Good Times, Inc.
Rocky Point, NC
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