I was invited to come down and give a talk at Oyster South in Charleston.  This event is growing by leaps and bounds!  Some 130 growers, 40 chefs, wholesalers and service providers we joined by several dozen extension agents and regulators from Texas to North Carolina.  The excitement was palpable.  As each of these states works to clear their regulatory hurdles, we are seeing eager entrepreneurs establishing farms and ready markets eager to serve high quality local seafood. At the evening social a dozen growers showed off their crops to an eager crowd.  The oysters were all excellent, and the pride that each grower has about the quality of their product was evident.  It is exciting to witness the birth of a new oyster farming industry in the south.

I gave them an introduction to the ISSC and the process our community uses to develop the rules that help us keep consumers from getting sick. We may not like all the rules, but our robust markets would disappear if consumers didn’t have confidence in our products.  The Vibrio Evangelist strikes again.  RBR