Netarts Bay is one of the cleanest estuaries in North America, thanks to its rapid tidal exchange and strong saltwater influence from the Pacific. These dynamic conditions promote slow, even oyster growth resulting in briny, beautifully shaped oysters with unmatched flavor.
Our oysters begin their lives just 3 miles from where they’ll eventually be harvested at Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery, here in Netarts Bay. Using broodstock from our own Pearl Point Oyster farm means our oysters don’t just grow up in Netarts but also come from generations of oysters that have thrived here. It is a full-circle, local lifecycle.
For about three weeks, our oyster larvae swim freely in large tanks, growing and developing as they feed on cultured algae.
Once large enough, the larvae are transferred into a large setting tank filled with recycled oyster shell. Here, they choose a shell to attach to, becoming spat.
Once the spat are about the size of a dime, the oyster cultch are placed directly onto the mudflats of Netarts Bay, where they’ll grow for the next 2 to 4 years before being ready to harvest.
Our owner, Max Wiegardt, is the second generation at the helm of Pearl Point Oyster Company. His family’s history in oyster farming stretches back over 150 years starting with his great-great-grandfather, Heinrich Julius Wiegardt, began farming oysters in Willapa Bay in 1873, where the Wiegardt family continues to farm there to this day.
Max grew up harvesting oysters on the mudflats of Netarts Bay and helping cultivate algae at his family’s hatchery, Whiskey Creek Shellfish. After the passing of his father, Mark, Max stepped up to continue the family tradition and lead Pearl Point with the same passion that’s guided his family for generations. As a fifth-generation oyster farmer, Max carries forward a legacy built on quality, hard work, and deep respect for the marine ecosystems that produce our oysters.
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