Eastern Carolina was once a seafood dynasty when it came to oysters, and Senator Marc Basnight wants to see the area flourish once again. Basnight is proposing to build one or more oyster hatcheries that will help the state have an increased supply of native oysters. At the turn of the 20th Century North Carolina produced over 1,000,000 bushels of oyster. Now it only produces 40,000 bushels. Industry experts say over-harvesting and disease have caused the population to decline over the years.
