2026 Oyster South Symposium

Thursday, January 29, 2026 5:30 PM
Saturday, January 31, 2026 8:30 PM

Intercontinental Houston 6750 Main Street Houston, TX, 77030 United States (map)

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OYSTER SOUTH SYMPOSIUM 2026 is presented by American Complete Oyster Farming Systems Inc.

YOU'RE INVITED

Join us in Houston for our biggest gathering yet! The Oyster South Symposium brings together producers, gear suppliers, distributors, chefs, food writers, vendors, researchers, students and managers from the southeast and Gulf coast regions to discuss pressing issues and relevant, practical research on oyster aquaculture. Tickets are available now!

WHEN & WHERE

January 29th – 31st, 2026 • Houston, Texas
Venue: InterContinental Houston

The Symposium kicks off Thursday, January 29th with our lively Director's Welcome Reception (Armadillo Palace), followed by two full days of talks and trade show sessions (January 30–31), and closes with our legendary Shuck & Tell celebration on Saturday night, January 31st at Lott Hall.

Stay with us at the InterContinental and take advantage of our special group rate. Book your room here. Includes complimentary breakfast!

REGISTRATION

Oyster South members enjoy deeply discounted registration rates — join or renew your membership here to save big. We'd love to have you as a member!

Registration includes:

Admission to all sessions (Friday + Saturday)
All coffee breaks and happy hours
Director’s Welcome Reception on Thursday night
Shuck & Tell closing celebration on Saturday night
Access to the Industry Trade Show
...and more!

Don’t wait — regular registration rates end January 16th, 2026!

TRADE SHOW

One of the Symposium’s most popular features, our Industry Trade Show, runs Friday morning through Saturday afternoon and brings together the best in oyster gear, technology, and innovation.

This year, the show will include:

• American Complete Oyster Farming Systems Inc. •.Atlantic Aqua Farms • BlueTrace • BST Oyster Supplies • Cherrystone Aqua Farms • Flip Farm Systems Ltd. • Formutech • Industrial Plankton • In Situ • Ketcham Supply • Louisiana Oyster Alliance • Minamoto Foods • Oceanfarmr • Oyster Resource and Recovery Center at the Harte Research Institute of Texas A&M–CC • OysterGro •.OYSTER-ology • Oyster Seed Holdings, Inc. • Pure Biomass, Inc. • Reed Mariculture • Regional Shellfish Seed Biosecurity Program • Sea Farms Consulting, LLC • SEAPA • Seed to Shuck Ventures • Shell Game Products • Shred Electric • USM Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center • University of Florida Shellfish Aquaculture Extension Program

Exhibitor registration includes two full Symposium badges so your team can take part in all sessions and events. Need more? You can easily purchase extra registrations for additional attendees.

SOCIAL EVENTS

Plan to arrive early and stay through Sunday!

Thursday, Jan 29: Director’s Welcome Reception — mingle, reconnect, and enjoy some local Houston food & culture (Armadillo Palace)
Saturday, Jan 31: Shuck & Tell at Lott Hall — our signature closing party where we come together to celebrate another successful Symposium

Depart on Sunday, Feb 1, after one last Houston breakfast with your new friends :)

SPONSORSHIP

To put on a successful meeting for the industry while keeping registration costs reasonable, we welcome sponsorships. Sponsors receive recognition on social media and meeting materials, plus the opportunity to share literature with attendees.

Interested in supporting us? Contact Bill Walton at bill@oystersouth.com or view sponsorship opportunities here.

In-kind sponsorships are also welcome!

TRAVEL NOTE

Please note that participants are responsible for their own transportation to the Symposium, social events and tours.

PROGRAM

There will be panels and talks that include updates on work being done on sudden unusual mortality in oysters, understanding factors that affect shelf life, use of video in telling your story, a round up of what's going on with oyster farming in Texas, the always popular Three Minute Tech Talks, market updates, ways to increase oyster consumption, resources for new growers and lots more!

Tentative Program (Subject to change, last updated Jan. 6, 2026)

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

1:00-5:00, Registration (@ InterCon Houston)

5:30-7:30, Director's Welcome Reception (@ Armadillo Palace)

Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

8:30, Trade Show Opens & Coffee Break

9:00-9:15, Welcome, Beth Walton & ACOF

9:15-9:45, National Oyster Market Report, Spoiler Alert; It's Not Pretty, Bob Rheault

9:45-10:00, Success(ion) Planning & Becoming Your Parents, Rusty Grice

10:00-10:30, Break (Sponsored by MS DMR)

10:30-11:15, Texas Round Up, Moderated by Mario Marquez

11:15-12:00, SUMS Updates, Andrea Tarnecki & Tal Ben Horin

12:00-1:15, Lunch

1:15-2:00, Three Minute Tech Talks, Moderated by Andrea Tarnecki & Ellen Coffin

2:00-2:45, Screen Time: Using Audio & Video for Storytelling, Moderated by Erin Murray

2:45-3:00, 2nd Annual Oyster South Award Presentations, Moderated by Bill Walton

3:00-5:00, Trade Show & Happy Hour (Sponsored by Ketcham Supply Co.)

Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026

8:30, Trade Show Opens & Coffee Break

9:00-10:00, Resources for New Growers, Moderated by Tom Bliss & Jason Rider

10:00-10:30, Break (Sponsored by ORRC)

10:30-11:15, Shucking the Myths: Why Southern Oysters Deserve Your Plate, Moderated by Thomas Derbes

11:15-12:00, Fresh 2 Death: Discussing Shelf-Life, Moderated by Bill Walton

12:00-1:30, Lunch on Own

1:30-1:45, You Are So Shuckable, Julie Qiu & Bill Walton

1:45-2:00, Using Environmental Benefit Calculators, Leslie Sturmer

2:00-2:15, Noisy Neighbors: Case Outcomes and Resolution Strategies, Jesse DeNike

2:15-2:30, Partnerships in Practice- Updates on the Gulf Oyster Breeding Center Located at the University of Southern Mississippi, Matthew Johnson & Megan Gima

2:30-2:45, From Farm to Reef – Lessons from SOAR Resiliency Fund Projects, Moderated by Rebekah Borgert

2:45-3:00, Wrap Up, Beth Walton

3:00-5:00, Trade Show & Happy Hour

7:00-9:00, Shuck & Tell (@ Lott Hall)