Shallotte

Shallotte is the furthest south commercial fishing community in Brunswick County before Calabash. This area also is the closest of the four communities to the Gordon Net Shop. Although there are several other locations such as S&S Marine that sell nets and provide services for net repair, Gordon net Shop is the only shop in the area whose only activity is net making and repair . The two fish houses in Shallotte are very different in their way of operating and success. The northern one (Holden Seafood and its adjacent seafood market) is to some extent isolated. The area is dominated by new urban development. According to the fishermen, big boats cannot get there anymore, due to the fact that the channel is not being dredged and is not deep enough anymore, and therefore the business have gone down. However, two kilometers down along the same channel, the Lloyd’s Oyster House is operating well. The houses around this oyster house are mostly local residents and fewer outsiders live in the surrounded area. Still large untouched natural landscape exists close to this fish house. In addition, the fish house is near a local seafood restaurant and a boat yard. In fact, the fish for the restaurant is partly provided by Lloyd’s. The concentrations of the activities of the oyster house, boat yard and the restaurant, in addition to more local people living in this area and involved in fishing related activities, have provided a stronger sense of place and maritime landscape in this area than in the area around Holden’s Seafood. Lloyd’s Oyster House has a good networking between the suppliers (fishermen) and the buyers. The good contact between fishermen and the oyster house, and the distribution of the fish/oyster to the local restaurants, as well as its vicinity to other fishing related activities are the strong points of Lloyd’s Oyster House. On the contrary, although Holden Seafood has a market as a point of connection with public, its location and lack of networking among fishermen, and difficulties of navigation of big boats in the river, along with growing urban development, have caused its isolation, and reduced its strong sense of place regarding the physical aspects of maritime cultural landscape.

Map and Survey part of Sorna Khakzad’s Doctoral research (ECU, 2017)

SHALLOTTE COMMERCIAL FISHING AREA – 2 FISH HOUSES, 1 LOCAL SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

  1. Holden Oyster House? Might be the name but did not check this out
  2. Lloyd’s Oyster House – visited and talked with owner Lloyd Milliken
    1. Located at 33°55’12” N, 78°22’23”W, 50 ft elevation
    2. Molly’s notes:

Lloyd’s Oyster House – Shallotte, North Carolina

Notes from interview with Lloyd Milliken:

  1. Located off the Intracoastal Waterway
  2. Building was started by his father, after he came back from WWII
    1. A 3 generation family business; Lloyds children run the restaurants
  3. Has been in business about 50 years
  4. The building sits on land that used to be marshes, but was purposefully filled in
  5. It is a store, distribution center, and oyster sterilization factory
    1. Each oyster is sterilized by heating them up to a certain point
    2. This process was developed by Lloyd, and this business is the only one to do it
  6. The inside of the building was remodeled to be lined with stainless steel 37 years ago
    1. Steel is easier to clean and more sanitary
    2. Prior to remodeling, the inside had to be repainted every two years
  7. Collects oysters from the Intracoastal area by the building, Texas, and Louisiana
    1. Each oyster must be at least 3 inches long
  8. Distributes to grocery stores and restaurants
  9. Oysters are stored in bushels in a cold room until ready for distribution
    1. Sent out in 6lb buckets, 5lbs of oysters, then filled with water
  10. Has several restaurants in Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina:
    1. Fishlips, Cape Canaveral, Florida
    2. Pelican Dreams (unsure of name), South Carolina
    3. Sunset Grille, Cocoa Beach, Florida
  11. Currently has one custom shrimping troller
    1. Used to have up to three, most recently Tina Rae sank 8 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, about 8 years ago (no lives lost)

Other:

  1. Lloyd, aged 60, was born and raised in the area
    1. Not planning on retiring anytime soon
  2. Lloyd’s office has photographs of his various businesses and boats
    1. One picture had two seashells taped to it
  3. Donates to various charities
  4. Lloyd is the owner of a Steak n’ Shake franchise in parts of North and South Carolina

 

 

PHOTO LOG

Aleck Tan’s photo log using iPhone 7 (Photos available).

IMG_9262,

IMG_9263

 Outside of Lloyd’s Oyster House Facing towards the water, oyster shells and trash are on the ground E
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 Where they pack oysters Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9266 Oysters go heat shock treatment in the tubs Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9267 Packaged oysters Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9268 Mud rinsed out from oysters end up in wheelbarrows to haul out Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9269 Where they process the oysters for export Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9270 Where they process the oysters for export Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9271 Man prepares oyster boxes Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9272 One of the containers in the oyster house Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9273 Notes on Heat Shock treatment Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9374 Area where oysters are rinsed and packaged Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9275 Area where oysters are rinsed and packaged Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9276 Oysters that have been brought in Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House
IMG_9277 Where oysters go through a rinse? Inside of Lloyd’s Oyster House