“It sounds like a lot, but a business on the Spit is a very expensive operation,” said George Overpeck, who has been the co-op’s manager for nearly four years.

“I think they were impressed with us because we have an existing business,” said Overpeck. “A lot of the people that are looking for grants are looking to start something new, and we were looking to take something already started to another level.”

Overpeck said the grant was awarded to help create infrastructure for the 9-year-old co-op. With the grant money, the co-op plans to build the ultimate oyster station, complete with an oyster bar.

“If we are able to control the movement and the value of that oyster all the way down to serving it to somebody at our oyster bar, that’s a great direction for the co-op to go,” said Overpeck. “The business is in control of that oyster all the way through its lifetime.”

The co-op has shown an annual production increase of 15 percent, and sold 40,000 dozen oysters last year with a retail value of $8 a dozen. As production grows the demand also grows, said Overpeck.

While the co-op doesn’t produce as much as people would like it to, it does produce every week, said Overpeck. There also is room for possibly 10 times the oyster production now taking place within the 72 acres allotted to farms, he said.

“There’s still a lot of learning going on here,” said Overpeck. “We are seeing more demand every year, and more people are interested in trying new techniques to farm and expand their operations. The full potential of the market is really hard to know.”

However, Kachemak Bay oysters can command some of the highest prices for oysters in the Lower 48.

“We come in at the very top of the market down there,” said Overpeck, adding that last summer Kachemak Bay oysters sold at market in Grand Central Station for $2.55 each. But that isn’t where these oysters usually end up. Overpeck said that the demand for oysters in Homer and Anchorage is enough to keep farms busy.

“We have marketed considerably in the Lower 48, “ said Overpeck. However, local demand grew along with oyster production, leaving little need to market Outside.

Fat Olives restaurant in Homer has served Kachemak Bay oysters since it first opened almost three years ago. Evan Vogl, co-owner of the business, said that people love the oysters.

“How can they be any better, we’ve got like the best waters in the world,” said Vogl. “The only problem I have with them is they don’t have enough. We run out a lot.”

For those that farm them, and those that eat them, Kachemak Bay oysters are something special. It isn’t just the variety of Pacific oyster, originally farmed in Japan, that makes these oysters a hot commodity. It isn’t the hours of labor spent sorting and caring for them. It’s the water.

The cold clean water of Kachemak Bay gives the oysters a sweet taste, said Vogl.

“Most people think they’re supposed to just swallow an oyster. You’re definitely supposed to chew an oyster,” said Vogl.

Because the water of Kachemak Bay is relatively cool, even in summer, the oysters are never warm enough to be able to reproduce. Like salmon, when they reproduce, their flesh becomes mushy. Without reproduction, Kachemak Bay oysters stay firm and marketable all year long. “We all work hard but the bay is what gives us a good product to sell,” Overpeck said.

So far so good, but the cool waters of the bay are showing signs of warming. Farms in Southeast Alaska have had problems because warmer water brings new bacteria, as well as unwanted reproductive organs.

“I have seen some product which is starting to develop sex organs, which usually should not happen up here,” said Overpeck. “In the last few years I’ve seen just a tiny little bit around the end of August.”

The oyster baskets are hung near the surface of the water, where food is plentiful and the temperature can approach 60 degrees. Because of warming, the nets sometimes have to be lowered, where there is less food, but cooler temperatures.

This can cause an even slower growth rate. In Prince William Sound, water temperatures have reached 70 degrees and nets have had to be lowered. Despite that, Overpeck said that the Prince William Sound industry is quite healthy.

The Kachemak Bay industry is healthy as well, but everyone in Homer isn’t starting an oyster farm.

Guyla McGrady is aquatic farm program manager for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

“Kacheamk Bay is not closed to aquatic farming, but it might be difficult to find an area,” said McGrady. “There’s hardly any areas available.”

McGrady said that aquatic farming is not permitted inside state parks and areas identified in the Department of Fish and Game’s Kachemak Bay Critical Habitat Management Plan. Permits also may be denied because of a conflict with existing uses of a site, such as commercial fishing, sport fishing, subsistence fishing and recreation.

Applications are publicly noticed and a hearing is scheduled to find out existing uses and if there would be a conflict. The next opening to apply for a permit will begin in January of 2007.

If the area were available there might still be challenges to the apprentice oyster farmer. “Even though we’ve got this really good thing going, the bottom line is, it’s a lot of work,” said Overpeck.

The high cost of labor, unpredictable weather and the newness of the industry make it an unpredictable investment. Oysters also grow slower than the typical 18 month oysters in the Lower 48.

“We average twice as much money, and four times as much work as farms in the Lower 48,” said Overpeck.