‘Our mission at Pleasure House Oysters is to produce the best possible oysters for market in a manner that promotes the reputation, seafood and health of the Lynnhaven River.
I am the sixth generation of my family to derive their living from the sea as either a harvester, merchant seaman or both. I understand the importance of sharing the resource and giving back to the waters that provide for me and my family. As the father of three young sons I am dedicated to providing them the opportunity to draw their livelihood from the seas if they choose to do so. I want them to have the opportunity to harvest from, educate about, entertain on, preserve, enhance or explore the oceans. My family has always seen the ocean and tributaries as shared resources that we should care for, restore when possible and not over harvest. Our family farm has recently expanded into ecotourism and agri-tourism by offering oyster farm and tasting tours for people to see firsthand what we are doing to responsibly grow seafood while we restore wild populations of oysters and their habitat.
Part of this stewardship is planning for future uses. In the recent past we have embraced planning and management of fisheries, but now we should be equally compelled to plan for the impacts of future ocean uses that include trade, energy, and transportation among others.’