NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
February 12, 2024
Contacts: Megan Shockley, Blue Oyster Environmental, 410-397-3664, mshockley@blueoysterenv.com
Steve Pattison, Solar Oysters, 410-493-8645, spattison@solaroysters.com
Solar Oysters and Blue Oyster Environmental Join Forces to Drive Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation
(Cambridge, MD – February 12, 2024) Solar Oysters LLC, a sustainable aquaculture technology producer, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Blue Oyster Environmental LLC, a vertically integrated oyster aquaculture company. This strategic collaboration aims to revolutionize aquaculture technology by using solar energy for oyster production and to enhance environmental sustainability and efficiency.
Solar Oysters LLC is an aquaculture technology company in Baltimore, MD. Their Solar Oyster Production System (SOPS) is estimated to produce up to 200,000 oysters in a 0.02-acre space. Traditional oyster farms often require multiple acres to produce a similar amount. The SOPS prototype has solar panels that rotate 575 oyster cages on five ladders to a depth of 16 feet. This increases the oysters’ access to varying food availability, dissolved oxygen, and salinity and exposes them to sunlight, which can inhibit biofouling. The SOPS technology includes a spray wash system powered by solar energy.
Blue Oyster Environmental (BOE) is a vertically integrated oyster company in pursuit of re-establishing the eastern oyster as a cornerstone species of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. BOE is a leader in assisting oyster farmers in quantifying and selling nutrient credits. BOE owns Hoopers Island Oyster Company, a full-service oyster production business that grows oysters and manufactures oyster aquaculture equipment. “We are excited to partner with Solar Oysters LLC to bring this innovative, game-changing technology to the aquaculture market,” said BOE CEO Jordan Shockley.
In late September 2023, the SOPS prototype was moved from the Baltimore harbor to Crocheron, MD. The SOPS prototype will operate on Hoopers Island Oyster Company’s lease on Fishing Bay in 2024. This new partnership will further develop the SOPS technology and enhance its operation. Blue Oyster Environmental will be the North American distributor of SOPS as the partnership brings this innovative technology to the aquaculture market.
“We look forward to working with Blue Oyster Environmental as our partner in bringing this potentially game-changing technology to growers and those interested in oyster restoration,” said Solar Oysters, LLC Business Director Steve Pattison.
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Solar Oysters provides innovative, sustainable technology for the aquaculture industry. Their first commercially available Solar Oyster Production System (SOPS) is being sold for both oyster restoration and consumption. solaroysters.org
Blue Oyster Environmental is a vertically integrated oyster company enhancing the environmental vitality of the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding communities by investing in essential infrastructure for oyster aquaculture and related activities. Through the cultivation, growth, and distribution of oysters, as well as the restoration of oyster reefs, BOE aims to promote water quality and support sustainable ecosystems. www.blueoysterenv.com
Blue Oyster Environmental Announces Agreement to Acquire Hoopers Island Oyster Company
For Immediate Release
Date: January 19, 2023
Contact: Jordan Shockley
jlshockley@blueoysterenv.wpenginepowered.com
411 Dorchester Ave.
Cambridge MD 21613
Cambridge, MD-Blue Oyster Environmental (BOE) has announced an agreement to purchase a majority stake in Hoopers Island Oyster Company (HIOC). This announcement comes on the heels of the original founder of HIOC, Johnny Shockley, acquiring full ownership of HIOC from his former partner, Ricky Fitzhugh. The acquisition is scheduled to close within the next few weeks. Blue Oyster Environmental will assume day to day management and operations of HIOC immediately as part of the transition.
Hoopers Island Oyster Company will continue to be the industry leader in manufacturing, distributing and selling oyster growing equipment to oyster growers both in the US and internationally, while also operating an oyster hatchery, nursery and multiple grow out locations that will sell oysters ranging in size from larvae to market sized. Hoopers Island Oyster Company will remain committed to providing quality products while providing customers with loyalty and excellent service.
“Central to the mission of Blue Oyster Environmental is the preservation of the waterman culture and lifestyle. The acquisition of Hoopers Island links that tradition to the future, where the application of innovation and smart policy will result in regional career opportunities, delicious, high quality protein, and a cleaner Chesapeake Bay.” said Tracy Ward, Board Member of Blue Oyster Environmental.
“Blue Oyster Environmental’s acquisition of Hoopers Island Oyster Company provides the foundation for a world class, vertically integrated oyster company. BOE will combine the initiatives and assets of both companies to create a company that will help make the Chesapeake Bay an international leader in oyster production, while doing our part in improving the overall health quality of the Bay.” said Johnny Shockley, Founder of Blue Oyster Environmental.
As with all important decisions, Hoopers Island Oyster Company will work closely with their employees, customers, and the oyster community to make the integration process seamless.
About Blue Oyster Environmental
Through the acquisition, Blue Oyster Environmental is now the most vertically integrated oyster aquaculture company on the East Coast that will stay true to its core principles of economy, environment and culture, upon which the company was founded. Blue Oyster Environmental will continue to be the industry leader in verifying and brokering nutrient credits generated through oyster farming and restoration practices.
To learn more about Blue Oyster Environmental click here
To learn more about Hoopers Island Oyster click here
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2021
Blue Oyster Environmental and Bespoke Mitigation Partners Join Forces
CAMBRIDGE, MD – Blue Oyster Environmental (BOE), an oyster aquaculture and seafood company based
in Cambridge, MD, is pleased to announce a partnership with the nature-based business and project
incubation firm, Bespoke Mitigation Partners (BMP). Additionally, BMP Founder and CEO, George Kelly,
will join Blue Oyster’s Board of Directors.
Together, BOE and BMP will work to educate oyster growers on how they can receive compensation for
the ecological and environmental services their farms provide to coastal areas and to expand nutrient
markets across the country for oyster aqua farms.
“Blue Oyster Environmental maintains an innovative vison for marrying oyster aquafarm production
with ecosystem service markets and BMP is delighted to help facilitate BOE’s engagement with the
environmental markets”, said George Kelly, Bespoke Mitigation Partners CEO.
“Blue Oyster Environmental is excited to welcome Bespoke Mitigation Partners and George Kelly to the
team. We are looking forward to using our shared experiences to expand nutrient trading and to grow
oyster aquaculture industry”, said Jordan Shockley, Blue Oyster Environmental CEO.
“Together with BMP, we are looking forward to assisting oyster farms in monetizing the ecological
services provided by their farms and bringing innovative solutions to address nutrient pollution across
the country.”
For more information on Blue Oyster Environmental visit blueoysterenv.com or email Jordan Shockley
@ jlshockley@blueoysterenv.wpenginepowered.com
For more information on Bespoke Mitigation Partners visit bespoke-mp.com or email George Kelly @
gkelly@bespoke-mp.com
About Blue Oyster Environmental
Blue Oyster brings a revolutionary, 21st-century approach to scaling the Chesapeake’s oyster
aquaculture industry, enlisting the vast watershed’s communities and businesses to help improve the
environment and storied culture of the country’s largest estuary. BOE provides a variety of services to
the oyster aquaculture industry and nutrient dischargers such as credit brokering services. With a focus
on business, environment and culture of the Chesapeake Bay, Blue Oyster believes that expanding the
oyster aquaculture industry will provide the model that is able to satisfy everyone’s vision of what the
oyster is meant to be.
About Bespoke Mitigation Partners
Bespoke Mitigation Partners (BMP) is focused on incubating businesses and projects that provide
nature-based solutions and that engage in environmental markets or services. BMP and its principles
have extensive experience in developing environmental markets, the restoration of wetlands and
streams for mitigation, the enhancement of green infrastructure for stormwater compliance, the
rehabilitation of habitat for species offsets and in providing advisory services for clients on multiple
continents.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2020
First Nutrient Credit Trade from Oysters Completed
BALTIMORE, MD – Blue Oyster Environmental, an oyster aquaculture and seafood company based in Cambridge, MD, and the Baltimore Convention Center, the premiere location to host meetings and conventions in the Mid-Atlantic States located in downtown Baltimore, have completed a voluntary Nutrient Credit trade generated by an oyster aquaculture operation. The Convention Center recently purchased four pounds of nitrogen credits generated from oysters grown by Orchard Point Oyster Co. in Stevensville, Maryland. The Convention Center purchased the nitrogen credits to offset the impact of food production associated with their Sustainable Event Professional Certificate Reception, an educational event for meeting planners seeking knowledge on creating sustainable meetings that took place in October of 2019.
“This trade is a major milestone for the aquaculture industry and the Water Quality Trading Program. For the first time, oyster farmers will be compensated for the ecological benefits of their farms, allowing them to expand their operations and increase the number of oysters they grow while also allowing the community to participate in oyster restoration,” said Jordan Shockley, CEO of Blue Oyster Environmental.
“In partnering with Blue Oyster Environmental, we were able to locate the nutrient credits needed to offset the water quality impact of our event. By purchasing these credits, we are supporting a necessary part of maintaining the health of Maryland’s own Chesapeake Bay while also enjoying delicious local oysters provided by Orchard Point Oyster Co. It is important for us to ensure that our sustainability efforts have a direct environmental impact on our local region”, said Mac Campbell, Deputy Director of the Baltimore Convention Center.
The nutrient credit purchase program will be added to a list of curated options for clients of the Baltimore Convention Center to offset their event’s environmental footprint. The Center’s initiatives, such as Diversion by Donation, the BCC Food Waste Reduction Program, as well as a growing number of offset opportunities, provide clients a variety of routes for producing greener meetings while helping vulnerable populations and leaving a lasting impact on the local community.
“We at Orchard Point Oyster Co. are incredibly excited to have been part of the first ever nutrient credit trade derived from oyster aquaculture. To us, the added value of nutrient credits represents more than just revenue. It is a reflection of the value that oyster aquaculture provides – from water quality improvements to species habitat.” said Scott Budden, Partner at Orchard Point Oyster Co.
This is the first time that an oyster aquaculture operation has been compensated for the ecological benefit their farms provide. “Bottom-line: nutrient trading will increase the number of farmed oysters on our farm and in the Bay. It is exciting to be on the forefront of a market-based solution that will improve the Bay” said Budden.
About Blue Oyster Environmental
Blue Oyster brings a revolutionary, 21st-century approach to scaling the Chesapeake’s oyster aquaculture industry, enlisting the vast watershed’s communities and businesses to help improve the environment and storied culture of the country’s largest estuary. BOE provides a variety of services to the oyster aquaculture industry and nutrient dischargers such as credit brokering services. With a focus on business, environment and culture of the Chesapeake Bay, Blue Oyster believes that expanding the oyster aquaculture industry will provide the model that is able to satisfy everyone’s vision of what the oyster is meant to be.
About the Center
The Baltimore Convention Center is the premier location in the Mid-Atlantic for organizations to host conventions, meeting, luncheons and other activities large and small. The four level Center boasts seven exhibition halls providing a total of 300,000 square feet, 50 meeting rooms with a total of 85,000 square feet and the largest ballroom in the state of Maryland, totaling over 36,000 square feet. The Center is conveniently located off of Interstates 83 and 295 in the revitalized downtown area and is surrounded by several major hotels and tourist attractions all within walking distance.
About Orchard Point
Orchard Point Oyster Company proudly raises sustainably farmed oysters in the Chester River and Eastern Bay, in some of the northern-most tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Grown in surface floats that gently tumble our oysters in the wind and the waves, our oysters have a deep, consistent shell cup. Plump and satisfying, Orchard Point oysters have a buttery minerality and gentle brine that reflects the sandy shorelines and rich aquatic grasses of our Upper Bay farm locations— an unforgettable flavor unique to our oysters.
To learn more about Blue Oyster Environmental click here
To learn more about the BCC’ Sustainability Programs click here
To learn more about Orchard Point Oyster Company click here
To learn more about Water Quality Trading click here
BOE Contact: Jordan Shockley jlshockley@blueoysterenv.wpenginepowered.com
BCC contact: Jennifer Douglass jdouglass@bccenter.org
Orchard Point Contact: Scott Budden Scott@orchardpointoysters.com
