Study at Juneau’s only oyster farm lays out challenges and opportunities for growing oysters in Southeast

Salty Lady Seafood Co. staff pull up oysters in Bridget Cove. (Photo courtesy of Meta Mesdag)
In Bridget Cove, Meta Mesdag grows thousands of oysters arranged in rows of floating mesh bags. She owns Salty Lady Seafood Co., the only Pacific oyster farm in Juneau.
Some years, naturally occurring toxic algal blooms have shut down her farm for weeks at a time. That motivated Mesdag to ask researchers: Can she predict when it will happen? 
“It’s such a mystery,” she said.