Name: What It Costs to Operate an Underwater Cage Oyster Farm
Uploaded: 2023-08-01T09:30:00Z
Duration: 8 min 29 s
Description: Ward Oyster Co. is one of the largest cage oyster farms on the East Coast, selling 4 million oysters and tens of millions of larvae each year. But it takes years for oysters to mature, and in that time, a lot can go wrong. Photo: Graham Copeland

https://www.barrons.com/client

Topics

Memberships

Tools

Customer Service

Network

Newsstand

For Business

For Education

For Advertisers

Account

About Barron's

bolded

unBolded

“We don’t see technology undermining our existence, we see technology helping us,” says Max Hollein, the CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260325/2a63586d-e782-4dc5-be2e-df80e32a8ed2/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Museums in the Age of AI

Max Hollein, the CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, tells Barron’s Andy Serwer why more people are donating to museums and cultural institutions.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260325/f1104bdd-a20a-46e0-917c-9292190d83a5/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

The Changing Landscape of Philanthropy

Jonathan Steinberg, founder and CEO of WisdomTree, tells Barron’s Andy Serwer how gold and metals can be a strong alternative to the dollar and Bitcoin.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260320/d4b49c1b-42b9-4eaa-b914-6f227f593d6c/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

WisdomTree CEO Is Going All In on Gold

Max Hollein, the CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, discusses philanthropy, artificial intelligence, museum security, and more.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260319/1835a4d4-fe5e-422f-b02f-a35b4f6a7272/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

This CEO Runs One of the Biggest Museums in the World

Jonathan Steinberg, founder and CEO of Wisdom Tree, sat down for an interview with Barron's editor at large Andy Serwer.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260312/4427cde3-1850-4fbf-92bc-ec8c7f47f1ae/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

WisdomTree CEO on ETFs, IDing Macro Trends, and More

As remote and hybrid work continues, Elizabeth Brink and Jordan Goldstein, co-CEOS of the architecture firm Gensler, tell Barron’s Andy Serwer how the firm is adapting to office design post-Covid.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260310/9eee4aa4-a86b-4762-9860-8fe7dce15ef3/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Redesigning the Office As a Destination, Not an Obligation

Elizabeth Brink and Jordan Goldstein, co-CEOS of the architecture firm Gensler, discuss how their leadership model works for their company.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260310/69de6812-eedd-4c37-8d4c-33823d11fd03/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Co-Leading and Collaborating at Gensler

Elizabeth Brink and Jordan Goldstein, co-CEOS of the architecture firm Gensler, sat down with Barron's editor at large Andy Serwer.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260306/da75551e-1f3b-4bb6-9d48-1d7eb40aee2a/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Gensler Co-CEOs on Nvidia, AI, and 'the 20-Minute City'

At Barron's

"Your 9-5...is just not going to do it," Nick Magguilli, personal finance expert, said on Barron's Streetwise podcast.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251216/e6897805-d131-4cc4-9c59-ca03b0c0b958/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

How to Scale Your Net Worth

TJ Thornton, Head of Global Research Product Marketing at BofA Securities, talks to Jack Hough about his favorite stocks outside of AI.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251210/f9c1a95c-5a0e-4349-9fe4-73b3ac53bfb8/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

BofA’s Favorite Non-AI Stocks

Jack Hough talks to TJ Thornton, Head of Global Research Product Marketing at BofA Securities about diversifying stocks to hedge AI risks.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251210/8e164ff7-1500-4c2f-8713-e891c640a0f4/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Evaluating Investing Opportunities Beyond AI

Steve Quirk, chief brokerage officer at Robinhood, breaks down the value of tokenizing stocks in different markets.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251126/f86d65ea-bd8b-4777-b6b0-80f7bb12027e/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Unpacking Tokenization for Everyday Investors

Jack Hough talks to Steve Quirk, chief brokerage officer at Robinhood, about trends in retail investing.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251126/a9cbdcc6-f060-4fc9-a15e-396924e25946/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

How Robinhood Reshaped the Trading Landscape for an Entire Generation

Streetwise host Jack Hough sat down with strategist Scott Wren to discuss how the AI-fueled market run stacks up against the dot-com boom.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251111/bd2e1a5b-1a6e-4543-8133-dcc63f69b5dc/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

AI vs. The Dot Com Bubble

Bank of America’s Haim Israel shares what’s next for Nuclear Energy development.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20250930/ab4fc336-af44-4af2-8e40-9ae6f04a445e/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

The Outlook For Nuclear

Jack talks to Lyft CEO David Risher about growth potential in the company.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20250929/ae62b70e-912b-4ce7-ae63-1b2652628bae/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Lyft's Ride to Profit

The stock market is expensive. What does that mean for your portfolio? Jack sits down with Franklin Templeton’s Matt Quinlan to talk dividend investing, and whether it’s a good move in a pricey market.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20250911/9c85e132-d710-4458-9467-aa69d4f25ae0/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Dividends and Capital Appreciation

Barron's Streetwise

“They don't want to wait for the advisor to hand them the performance report,” says Mollie Colavita, CEO of J.P. Morgan Advisors. “They want to consume on their terms and then have a conversation about it with you.”

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260310/eafd1ea2-90cf-4e84-89ec-38bf035de8c0/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Clients Want Direct Access to Information When They Want It

Interviews with top wealth management professionals about topics including compensation, hiring, marketing, next-gen, and more.

Mollie Colavita, CEO of J.P. Morgan Advisors, recommends that advisors seek out a group of trusted people who can act as a sounding board to help address pressing issues.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260311/f79ee94f-8475-4cea-97a7-5c3dcdc6ea53/2/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

The Benefits of Having a ‘Personal Board of Directors’

Mollie Colavita, CEO of J.P. Morgan Advisors, discusses the importance of financial advisors adopting a CEO mindset in their practice.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260310/d371a9d3-65fe-414e-bade-5b3ed915d16d/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Why Advisors Should Think and Act Like a CEO

Mollie Colavita, CEO of J.P. Morgan Advisors, discusses how new AI tools are being rapidly adopted by advisors, resulting in improved efficiency and enhanced client relationships.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260310/595b6817-9225-4f9a-8ae8-b391eeed555b/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

How AI Tools Can Help Streamline Advisor Workflows

Eleni Mavromati, private wealth manager with Merrill Private Wealth Management, who serves as COO of the Jones Zafari Group, says that “listening to everybody’s ideas will help make the team great.”

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260224/400c8545-54da-42c8-89a5-e62f8d0ecf8d/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

‘Leading With Empathy Is the Most Important Thing’

Eleni Mavromati, private wealth manager with Merrill Private Wealth Management, who serves as COO of the Jones Zafari Group, discusses activities that are not work related that encourage mingling and engagement across different roles.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260224/2d52248b-c26d-45c4-b0bf-cf5786f9e9c2/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Ways to Foster a Friendlier and Fun Team Culture 

Eleni Mavromati, private wealth manager with Merrill Private Wealth Management, who serves as COO of the Jones Zafari Group, says her team hosts activities, including nature walks for women, who often become friends and sometimes business partners.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260224/743c8742-df59-4b75-8c6d-e272e7e366cb/2/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Be More Intentional About Business Development

Eleni Mavromati, private wealth manager with Merrill Private Wealth Management, who serves as COO of the Jones Zafari Group, says COOs must ensure that compliance, human resources, business development, marketing, and team culture are all in sync.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260224/f894db37-780d-4063-8455-46acc418d2ad/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

How the COO Role Is Similar to Being an Orchestra Conductor

Nancy Daoud, CEO of Opus: Advice First, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, says that alts have become “one of the most important components of portfolios in more recent years, probably in the last eight to 10 years.”

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260210/0f15cdfa-d2c2-466d-9a75-7f02d1b92ddb/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

The Growing Importance of Alternative Investments

Barron's Advisor The Way Forward

A “willingness to roll up your sleeves and understand the issues that your clients are facing, not just from an investment perspective,” is common among the industry’s most successful, says Kelly Gaur, a Mercer Advisors regional vice president.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260319/318adb2f-a888-4f30-b182-c791e27f98ab/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Best Advice for Someone Considering Wealth Management as a Career

Kelly Gaur, a Mercer Advisors regional vice president, says she was drawn to working for a registered investment advisor partly because they generally offer a more personalized, modern approach to wealth management.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260318/5575e9ca-0b48-4fb9-8e43-82aae1b3e3fc/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

The Appeal of Working for an RIA

“The best client development professionals are those who have served clients in some capacity,” says Kelly Gaur, a Mercer Advisors regional vice president.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260318/c1638929-6b21-4573-9deb-4f78e1ffa1d7/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Client-Facing Experience Can Help Advance Your Career

The Mercer Advisors regional vice president discusses her business development role and tips for breaking into the industry and gaining valuable experience in a non-advisory capacity.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260318/f2c2c9a5-cb67-4167-a48b-7fe4a9285615/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Kelly Gaur: Tips for Pursuing Non-Advisor Roles in Wealth Management

“You want to make sure that everybody's excited and prepared and that you're all pulling the rope in the same direction,” says Nate Fisher, managing director and wealth advisor at Carson Wealth.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260305/20285ef5-c115-435f-9291-e4f2d5b166a9/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

A Successful Transition Requires Honesty and a ‘Heavy Lift’

Young advisors considering a succession plan should maximize engagement with clients because “it can take a long time to gain that trust and build those relationships,” says Nate Fisher, managing director and wealth advisor at Carson Wealth.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260305/236fdaa2-5acb-48e9-b16d-e20b58846487/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Succession Planning and Establishing Trust With Clients

The Carson Wealth managing director and wealth advisor says his decision to partner with the firm was driven by the need for increased capacity for holistic services and a clear succession plan for his retiring father.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260305/33bb1217-c8be-4358-ba17-6238cbab6fa1/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Nate Fisher: Lessons Learned From a Successful Partnership

As trust grows, advisors tend to spend less time discussing investments and more time on clients’ families and well-being, says Nate Fisher, managing director and wealth advisor at Carson Wealth.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260305/d2d3903a-994f-4ae7-82be-706929930b3d/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Trusted Advisors Focus Less on Investments, More on Clients' Lives 

Serving tech founders is a full-time, long-term effort that often requires significant upfront work before a successful, revenue-generating relationship is established, says Katie Partridge, a Morgan Stanley private wealth advisor.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260219/abc63bad-4c7a-474b-b4a8-b4feae461375/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Landing Founders as Clients Requires Patience and Hard Work

Barron's Advisor Next Generation

The capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and Middle East tensions are reshaping oil supply expectations. The U.S. is intervening in energy markets in decades-unseen ways. Experts break down what’s next for oil, gas and energy stocks.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260212/9779ec13-602a-4a38-bb73-495ff464a24f/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Oil and Gas in a Volatile World

For the first time in decades, U.S. power demand is rising - driven by AI data centers, EVs and electrification. Utility and clean-energy stocks are climbing, but costly buildouts threaten affordability. We explore what’s next for the power trade.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20260212/81a81fdd-47b4-44f6-93d1-7597a7fab032/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

The Gold Rush in Electricity

Will Nvidia and other technology companies keep powering the stock market in 2026? We'll speak with two veteran money managers about their views on tech and their favorite stocks for the coming year.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251212/5683d7a0-ed1f-4e3c-b913-bb3367ea3abd/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Finding Bargains in a Pricey Market

Explore what could go right for investors, and what could go wrong, in a year that will see the AI trade evolve, the Fed's leadership change, and global competition for resources increase in this 2026 Outlook.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251212/573f5954-c4ab-43e9-804d-f1ea93fbb70c/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Meeting the Challenge

Stocks are expensive, risks abound, and AI is about to change the world. Other than that, building a calamity-proof retirement portfolio should be a cinch. Tune in as two veteran money managers size up the markets and share their investment ideas.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20250211/17a5e7d6-7c36-44b0-a35e-bf5ac3a24194/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Saving for a Sunny Day

Research shows that people greatly underestimate the healthcare costs they’ll face in retirement. Learn from experts how to estimate those costs, prepare for potential long-term care needs, and manage healthcare expenses in retirement.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20250211/e7c022d9-badf-4e95-8e7c-0b6fce9f7823/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Are You Fiscally Fit?

Surging power demand, new energy sources, and growing competition have spurred the utility industry to become more innovative than ever before. Our panelists will unpack the changes afoot and explore what lies ahead for companies, customers, and investors.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20240917/001ea098-1fcc-4da5-9f0e-a3b149bbb2fb/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Not Your Father's Utility

Modernizing America's grid will take creativity and money -- lots of money. Learn how players across the power sector can achieve their electrification goals and serve new customers without breaking the bank for consumers.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20240917/bd6bd43a-bb07-4b7f-9d1c-6ae04220bea9/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Ready for a Revamp?

The launch this year of Bitcoin ETFs has made it easier for investors to buy and trade the cryptocurrency. But is that a wise move, and if so, how much crypto should you own?

https://m.wsj.net/video/20240529/cbb77f15-ef70-445d-85ae-5f02c24ea1ef/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Investing in Cryptocurrencies

Barron's Roundtable

Whether you're leading a transition, building a scalable team, or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, this episode will give you practical insights to lead smarter and grow stronger.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251010/fd26d60b-d1e6-409b-b51b-101da4aaa368/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Next-Gen Leadership Meets Smart Innovation

Electric vehicles sales are growing but not at the pace some expected. Some would-be buyers worry about the range of EV charging, and others are swayed by politics. But innovators from Detroit to Silicon Valley still envision a dramatic shift in how we get around. What’s going on and what’s next?

https://m.wsj.net/video/20240603/5784fa60-791c-47ad-9740-42e4553de5c4/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Forces Shaping EV Adoption and the Future of Driving

Success in improving the power grid to accommodate the electricity demands of the future will be a boon for companies doing the work and utilities that succeed. Explore the investing risks and opportunities.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20240522/2b825c69-2687-4d88-923b-0c8f523a2f67/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

How to Invest in Initiatives to Bolster the Power Grid

Joanna Rotenberg, Fidelity's president of personal investing, discusses ways to make investing more accessible and how to bolster your own financial security.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20231025/8ad733df-ac90-41fd-9655-7761b3e0532c/2/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Mind the Gap: Demystifying Investing

Reshma Kapadia sits down with Cozy Wittman of College Inside Track to discuss how to tackle all things college, from what admission officers are seeking today, to navigating the different ways to funding higher education and evaluating the ROIs.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20230515/b7229011-05cc-42ec-9c16-1d7752ec668d/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Decoding the College Search and Financing Puzzle

Nicole Webb, financial advisor and SVP at Wealth Enhancement Group, shares ways to navigate the real estate market this spring whether you are a first-time buyer, a retiree downsizing or someone who is relocating or looking for a second home.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20230424/93eb00e1-caf0-4e83-9fc7-b502a57dc546/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Pro Tips on Buying and Selling a Home

Reggie Fils-Aimé, former president and COO of Nintendo of America, joins Barron's deputy editor Alex Eule to discuss his unlikely rise to the top, and the risks he took once there to beat the odds and achieve success.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20220630/61e2296d-ab1a-4216-ae65-24676447c616/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

How Nintendo's Former President Disrupted the Gaming Industry

2050 Wealth Planners co-CEO Lazetta Rainey Braxton, Sequoia Financial Planners vice president Elizabeth Scheiderer, and MoneyZen founder Manisha Thakor offer tips on how to prepare for recession, inflation, caregiving needs.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20220617/a71025ce-518b-49b9-b098-21417863f8ce/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Financial Advice for the Inflation-Weary

Families and advisors have a lot to navigate when it comes to generational wealth transfer. Add sustainable investing to the list. Examine strategies to help close the generational divide. From the Dow Jones Energy & Sustainability event series.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20230210/85cbf3f9-b5ab-4bfa-93c6-f8e8a247d386/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Sustainable Investing and the Wealth Transfer

Barron's Events

Level Up

Barron's Explains

Back to Business

Great Investors

MarketWatch

Video Center - Barron's home

Ward Oyster Co. is one of the largest cage oyster farms on the East Coast, selling 4 million oysters and tens of millions of larvae each year. But it takes years for oysters to mature, and in that time, a lot can go wrong. Photo: Graham Copeland

https://m.wsj.net/video/20230728/9cdad38e-d35c-4adf-ae78-659025da0909/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

What It Costs to Operate an Underwater Cage Oyster Farm

Narrator: These are oysters.

At first, it kinda looks like quinoa.

Narrator: More than 40 million pounds of oysters are produced in the US each year, and that supply has struggled to keep up with demand. It takes up to three years for oysters to grow and be ready to eat, and customers tend to buy them for about $3.

It's gonna be dirty, it's gonna be hard, it's gonna be physical, and it's gonna be time consuming.

Narrator: John Vigliotta is the owner of Ward Oyster Company in Virginia. It's one of the largest fully integrated oyster farms on the East Coast spanning more than 850 acres of river floor, and it raises around 4 million oysters each year. It sells these oysters to distributors for about 0.40 cents each. As people continue eating more seafood, the global oyster market is growing, but maintaining an operation like this takes a lot of work.

Hmm.

You know it's gotta be tasty when you can eat it raw.

Narrator: And it costs this farm around $1.9 million per year. It's a complicated web of processes with a lot that can go wrong.

This building is our conditioning building here at Ward Oyster Company. Starting in November, we start bringing in oysters to get ready for spawns later on in the season. Here we have some of our breeding oysters for the hatchery. They're kind of bred for low salinity.

Narrator: Lots of the company's breeding oysters come from VIMS, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. They're bred for high survival, growth, and meat yield.

That comes with a price. They charge 15% of whatever our sale is on seed oysters, so we will pay probably 100, maybe over $100,000 just in royalty fees.

Narrator: Another big expense for the company is electricity and propane, which it needs to keep the oysters alive and spawning on schedule. That adds up to about 70 to $75,000 per year.

We usually start cold and then slowly raise the temperature of the water while increasing the food to kind of simulate spring. It usually takes between 6 and 10 weeks to get the oysters right, depending on conditions.

Narrator: Once the breeding oysters are ready to spawn, staff shuck them, and identify whether they're male or female.

Jared: All right. We have a girl.

Narrator: From a few thousand breeding oysters, Ward Oyster Co. ends up with about 1.5 billion larva. Around 200 to 250 million will set, and about 50% of those will make it to half an inch. Some will be sold to other oyster farms that don't have hatchery facilities while the rest will continue growing to market size at Ward.

It couldn't be any more sustainable. It's oysters well spent.

Narrator: The entire process takes about two years and involves the work of about three dozen people. As the oysters grow, they move from these tanks to these 10,000 gallon tanks. To feed up to 100 million baby oysters in each tank, they need a lot of algae.

We're usually feeding between 1,500 and 2,500 gallons of algae each day. There's enough food in this room to maybe accommodate the facility for two or three days. When it starts to look like pond water, it gets me excited.

Narrator: After feeding the baby oysters for about a month, the oysters come to this bottle system where they're fed directly from the river.

There's a lot of maintenance that goes into maintaining the bottles in particular, but really everything here. These animals are really filtering the water. They're eating voraciously. You can see how opaque the water is. My hand disappears right there. And then right here in this silo, it's crystal clear. Quarter inch animal like in this tank, you know, it's been out of the hatchery for probably a month, six weeks, is well on its way to getting planted in the field. These are some animals that were retained on a 7/16th screen at the beginning of this week, and it looks to me like they are just about ready to move on up and go out onto the farm.

So let's get the ropes, let's get your life jackets on, and let's ride. We work six days a week, most of us here. I usually have three to four people. We're all trained to do this job, and that's what we do every day. We are raising these oysters from babies to market oysters. After a good six or seven months, that's what we're working with.

Oysters grow, and they grow exponentially. The last five years our labor expense has not been below $1 million. The question each year is how much over a million dollars is it gonna be?

Hey, they're going back overboard. Right now we have almost 4,000 cages, and we're hoping to get even more soon.

Narrator: These cages cost about $200 each, so putting 4,000 cages in the water has cost about $800,000. After months of being underwater, many cages will need repairs.

John: Our repair costs run probably 100, maybe 150,000 per year.

Narrator: That's just for the cages. Other repairs around the farm bring the figure higher.

Beautiful.

Every now and then you might have a machine malfunction, but we come prepared if something breaks down. We have other parts that get us back in.

Narrator: The oyster business can be unpredictable, particularly due to climate change. Rising sea levels are increasing water salinity and making water more acidic. Both these things have a major effect on oysters.

An oyster has a calcium shell, and as the water becomes more acidic, you'll see that the calcium production for an oyster can be hampered. We've been very fortunate in our location to do well with what we've been producing.

Narrator: Ward has insurance to cover everything from floods to fire, product, and other liabilities, and employees when they're on the water.

It's bad weather, we don't come out. We try to keep enough oysters close and locally so we won't have to go out in the bad weather. We don't want to do that. We try to keep safety first.

Narrator: Ward Oyster Co. is on low lying areas that are prone to flooding, which means flood insurance can cost 12 to $15,000 per year.

This dock was one of the three that survived Hurricane Isabel. We had about six foot of water in here. We had to get a brand new ice machine. It's up in the air. That's not by accident. It cost us about $15,000. We spend probably somewhere around $70,000 a year in insurance.

Narrator: Ward spends about $100,000 dollars a year on new cages, which is about a third of its annual supply budget. After the oysters come out of the cages, they're graded for size with machines like this. The smallest ones stay in half inch cages. Larger ones go in one inch cages. And once they're about three inches in size, they're finally big enough to be sold to restaurants, grocery stores, and other buyers. It usually takes about two years for oysters to get to that point. After the machine grades them, the staff checks the oysters by hand and then loads them into these boxes, which also run the company about $100,000 per year.

A box like this is gonna cost roughly 2, 250, and we might send out over 1000 a week. This particular box had a required minimum that costs like $17,000. It's a fairly significant expense, but once you spend the 17,000, you're good for a while.

Narrator: Once they're boxed, the oysters go into the cooler and then refrigerated trucks where they're sent to buyers. These trucks cost about $100,000. Other large equipment can also add up. A skid-steer costs about $50,000, but they aren't part of the farm's annual budget.

We do not set aside a certain budget for capital expenses. If the year is going along poorly, we might do more repairs than replace.

Narrator: It all adds up to about $1.9 million in expenses, and the company has to recoup those costs by selling market oysters and also selling eye larvae and other seed to other aquaculture companies.

Our farm is one of the larger oyster farms on the East Coast. There are a lot of people that have a farm and a hatchery, but they don't sell seed to other farmers. We sell seed all up and down the East Coast from Florida to Rhode Island. We're helping a lot of other farms actually grow and compete in the industry itself.