David takes you to Savannah’s Bull River to meet Perry and Laura Solomon of Tybee Oyster Company, the pioneers behind Georgia’s first floating cage oyster harvest. They show how flip-farm baskets, smart stocking, and coastal science produce clean, meaty half shells while building habitat and easing pressure on wild reefs.

Oysters from Tybee Oyster Company

Credit: tybeeoystercompany.wordpress.com

 

Perry and Laura Solomon grew up loving the coast, and today they are transforming that love into a working farm that floats on Savannah’s Bull River. Their Flip Farm system keeps oysters at the top of the water column where phytoplankton are richest, which speeds growth and yields a deep cup and briny sweetness prized on the half shell.

They walk us through flipping and sorting, why density matters, and how a subtidal lease lets oysters stay submerged instead of baking on the mud. Along the way, we learn about cups, brine, and the craft that turns seed into market oysters.

The Solomons credit a 2019 legislative framework and support from UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant for jump-starting Georgia aquaculture, from improved broodstock to on-water assistance out at Skidaway Island. Their baskets act like floating reefs that host shrimp, fish, and blue crabs and leave the estuary better than they found it.

 

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