Wilmington, NC

Middle Sound Mariculture LLC

Middle Sound Mariculture has embraced the concept of North Carolina being the “Napa Valley of Oysters” by siting their family-run farms in different regions of southern N.C. This allows them to capture the unique merroir associated with each location’s flavor profile and offer some of the finest and freshest oyster varieties North Carolina has to offer. Below is a description of the location and general flavor profile for each of our farms: • The largest farm is located in the waters of Stump Sound adjacent to the Permuda Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). This system is renowned for producing top quality shellfish. These oysters have a mid-salinity (15-25 ppt) and are well balanced with strong vegetal afternotes. These Stump Sound oysters are named the Tarheel Tiderunner. • Another farm is located behind Topsail Beach about three-fourths of a mile north of New Topsail Inlet. The highly productive waters of this farm impart a briny profile with high salinity (29-34 ppt) and clean mineral finish. The oysters from this farm are called the Topsail Topstone. • The farm in Masonboro Sound, adjacent to the Masonboro NERR, has the highest salinity (33-36 ppt) and a buttery texture. Their brininess is balanced out by a sweet afternote. Oysters produced from this farm are named the Masonboro Pearl.