Choosing A Location

  
 

The choices an individual oyster farm faces regarding the style of culture techniques they pursue is somewhat dependent upon the property that they have access to and the customer base that makes up their market. The Last Place On Earth LLC. has the advantage of being a newcomer to the oyster industry.

  • Our customer base is not yet established.
  • Our choice of growing suspended singles is based upon the premise that there are nowhere near enough singles produced to fill the demand that now exists for product.
  • The quantity of oysters we can offer a distributor will greatly influence their decision to work with us.
  • The Yaquina Bay seems ideally suited to our style of "Long Line Suspended Bag Culture" for oysters.

Our lines float on the surface instead of lying on the bottom. This allows us to plant oysters over mud that could not support the weight of oysters lying on the floor.

During an extreme low tide the bags lightly settle on the surface of the mud and then lift off again as soon as the water returns. This allows us to choose a location not dependent upon the condition of the bottom or the depth of the water.

Salinity in the water column varies with the depth of the water. In the winter there is a greater amount of fresh water in the Yaquina Bay, much like any other salt water estuary. In any large body of saltwater rain and fresh water runoff tends to be greater nearer the surface.

This is because salt adds density to the water making it heavier. The lighter fresh water will try to ride at the top of the water column. Since our oysters usually ride about 14" deep it is important to overcome the salinity issue by planting as far down river as possible so we will remain as close to the ocean as we can.

The Yaquina Bay exchanges about 75% of the bay's water with new ocean water every tide cycle. This is very unusual for an oyster producing estuary. The advantage this gives during high flood winters is important if a large river system drains to the ocean through the estuary.

 

McCaffrey Slough has no large fresh water source that feeds through it to the river. It has no steep edges where trees can fall into the water during wind storms. McCaffrey Slough draws its water source from Riverbend which is one of the prime algae rich areas of this river system. This growing area has very moderate currents and large amounts of shallow wetland that allows water temperatures to increase to 70-80 degrees from late May through early October. Newport rarely sees summer temperatures over 80 degrees so many of the bacteria problems associated with summer conditions in other locations do not affect us.

 

  
 
Floating debris in the water shed is a critical factor during winter. The more rain and flooding conditions you experience in the river system the greater the hazard. The stronger the current the more momentum these floating projectiles gain. A small log has the ability to do a great deal of damage to a floating line.

McCaffrey Island shields the entrance to the slough and creates an eddy along the shallow edge of Riverbend near the mouth of the slough. This nearly eliminates most serious risk associated with large logs set loose during the winter floods and storms.
 

Not every location is suitable for every style of oyster cultivation. The Last Place On Earth LLC. chose a style of culture that was specifically suited for the property that was available to us and the market we intend to persue. We believe that "Long Line Suspended Bag Culture" for oysters will produce oysters of superior quality. The appearance alone is better than any oyster we have found anywhere commercially. Suspended Singles from Yaquina Bay will suprise you with their subtle flavor and imaculate appearance. Try some soon.

"I'm Mike Marshall, the owner of The Last Place On Earth LLC. I'd like to personally answer any questions regarding this company or this web site." E-Mail: mikemarshall@whoever.com.
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