Last year, St. Petersburg’s Lost Coast Oyster Company became Tampa Bay's first and only sustainable oyster farm oyster company.
This weekend, founders/owners Brian and Lindsay Rosegger celebrate the formal arrival of Lost Coast bivalves when St. Pete’s Alto Mare Fish Bar hosts a launch party this Thursday in their honor.
Guests can enjoy food by Chef Joshua Breen, cocktails and, of course, plenty of Lost Coast Company oysters, which are farmed at the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve. The preserve’s location—about 16 miles south of Tropicana Field off the shoreline of Terra Ceia Preserve State Park—makes Lost Coast the southernmost aquaculture lease of its kind in the continental U.S.
While indulging, learn more about the founders, oyster farming (the Roseggers use a technique where oyster seeds are planted in floating bags—making them quicker to grow and easier to harvest year-round) and all about Lost Coast Oyster Company.
The availability of local oysters is notable since the Apalachicola fishery in North Florida has been shut down because of drought and other issues. What’s more is that the FWC has delayed its decision on whether or not to suspend harvesting in that area for a few years.
CL reached out to Lost Coast to see how and if the FWC decision will have any effect on Tampa Bay. In an email, Brian said the decision won’t affect Lost Coast but that the proposed closure in North Florida would limit the availability of oysters in Florida.
“With the closure of Apalachicola Bay for wild harvest, there is a tremendous opportunity for farmers to pick up the slack,” he says
The Lost Coast Oysters launch party begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29 at Alto Mare Fish Bar, which is located at 300 Beach Dr. NE in St. Petersburg.
And if you can’t make the Alto Mare event, you can find Lost Coast oysters—aka “LoCo” oysters—at Bascom’s Chophouse, The Urban Stillhouse (pictured above), and Ulele.
UPDATED: 10/28/20 12:10 p.m. Updated with comment from Brian Rosegger.
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This article appears in Oct 22-29, 2020.