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Another Pearl
But don't be fooled by the size of the operation; that single catch is surprisingly substantial.
Working on four acres of a 90-acre lease, the couple produces half a million oysters a year, with annual revenues of $180,000. Though 80 percent of their product goes to Northern California and abroad, their centralization in Sonoma gives them an edge with local restaurants and markets (John Ash & Co., Hemenway's, and G & G Market, to name a few), which regularly take the other 20 percent.
They are working hard to expand their local clientele even further.
"We are very interested in becoming better known in the county in which we work and live," Rebagliati says. "A lot of people know us and buy our oysters, but we still find that many people don't know we're here.
"But it won't be long," he adds. "We're spreading the word as fast as we can."
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Though all local oyster farming takes place on Tomales Bay, not all the companies are based in Marin. Bay Bottom Beds Inc., owned by the husband-and-wife team of Jorge Rebagliati and Lisa Jang, is run from their Santa Rosa apartment. One day a week, the couple makes the trip to the bay to pulls up the harvest.