Welcome to our family farm!


As a close-knit family drawn to the coast of North Carolina, we have enjoyed eating oysters for many years. Whether we were buying them by the bushel or buying them on the half shell, we often noticed that most of our oysters were imported from out-of-state! This desire for sourcing locally left us to search for opportunities within our own state for oyster farming.

And thus, the idea for White Oak Oyster Company was born. 
Our owner, Benjy Davey, is the mastermind behind this operation. He and his wife, Justine Davey, reside in Durham full-time. Benjy's parents retired in Swansboro and their home serves as "headquarters" for our farming operations. Swansboro is located about 25 minutes east of Jacksonville and 35 minutes west of Morehead City. Having parents by the coast allows us to indulge in a soft bed and many home-cooked meals during our frequent trips to work on the farm! 
Our 5.5 acre oyster farm, a mere 10 minute boat ride from the neighborhood boat ramp, is nestled along the border of the Croatan National Forest near the mouth of the White Oak River. Its proximity to the Bogue Inlet allows the salinity of the Atlantic Ocean to flow through the gills of our White Oak oysters. This gives oysters plucked from our farm a strong, salty punch.​
We utilize two primary growing methods for our oysters. Pictured above is our intertidal longline system, a method that is popular in Australia. The oysters grow in hanging baskets and are kept off the muddy bottom. Through this system, our oysters are exposed and out of the water for a few hours each day (based on the tides) which kills parasites, algae, and other unwanted pests.
Our second farming method utilizes floating cages. This method also keeps our oysters at the ideal feeding depth where nutrients are plentiful. We flip these cages (pictured above) to expose them and kill parasites. We are constantly assessing and reassessing our methods and looking for ways to improve our farm as we continue to expand.
Currently, we supply our oysters to Burger Bach, a New Zealand inspired gastro pub located on 9th Street in Durham. We also sell at the South Durham Farmers Market every other weekend and coordinate with a few local vendors who organize pop-up oyster events. Despite these varying partnerships, we are still small enough to keep a close oversight of our operations.
Every aspect of our farm, including the engineering, constructing, harvesting, transporting, accounting, marketing, and social media is handled by a member of the family! We are fortunate enough to possess so many different talents among us and have been able to utilize each of our gifts to create the product that we share with you today. While we plan to continue to grow this farm through each successive year, we hope to never lose sight of the reasons behind our work.
Our family believes in engaging in sustainable farming practices, sourcing locally, and providing a high quality product (and high quality service!) to everyone that we come across from Durham to Swansboro and everywhere in between. Sharing our oysters with you has been the culmination of many late nights, long weekends, deliberations, cuts, bruises, and sunburnt faces. It has been all worth it and more, and we have learned so much along the way.​
We love to hear from our customers and hope you will come out and see us at the South Durham Farmers Market. We love seeing your pictures, hearing about your new recipes, and learning about all of the different ways you and your family enjoy our oysters. We also encourage you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram (and even TikTok!) so you can stay abreast of all of our wonderful developments as we continue to grow this project.
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Thank you for being a part of our family's journey and for supporting our vision!

Sustainable

Shellfish aquaculture increases water quality, stimulates biodiversity, and makes annual harvests possible by replanting seed grown in a hatchery.

Local

The appetite for eating local and supporting the local economy is growing. We want to help make sure consumers in NC get to experience the benefits of the vast coastal resources the state has to offer. 

Quality

We spend our time on the water to ensure we grow the highest quality oysters that are clean and are the perfect shape and size for the half-shell consumer.