In The News
N.C. Coastal Federation to hold Pelican Awards, raffle, Auction
7/28/2022
The coastwide winners this year are Susan Hill, the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Hydraulics Unit, and Don Ensley.
“Susan Hill is a dynamic force behind the growing Oyster Mariculture Industry in North Carolina,” the release states.
On the trail
1/19/2022
We all have lots of beautiful memories from our childhood that make us extremely happy and shapes us into who we are today. Susan Fulcher Hill grew up in Williston; she remembers meeting friends for after-school snacks at the General Store and watching folks load up hundreds of bushels of clams on trucks at the old Clam House. She also saw, over the years, too much of the enterprise in Williston go away along with many of the job opportunities for folks Down East. With such brimming memories and a passion, Susan, Robert, their son John and his wife Adrianna, purchased the old clam house.
Spat-On-Shell Project to Restore Wild Oysters
8/6/2020
North Carolina Sea Grant, the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries and industry collaborators have joined forces on a new project to produce and deploy spat-on-shell to restore wild oyster populations for future harvest.
Susan Hill, owner of Down East Mariculture in Williston, is serving as the commercial nursery partner.
How a North Carolina Oyster Nursery Is Improving Lives—and the Environment
1/7/2020
The Pew Charitable Trusts is working with partners in the state to advance oyster recovery, which can improve habitat and water quality, and protect shorelines from storms. To learn more, Pew spoke with Susan Hill, co-owner of Down East Mariculture, an oyster nursery in Jarrett Bay, North Carolina. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Artist to commemorate clam house legacy
3/19/2019
An artist is trying to commemorate a piece of Williston’s history with a mosaic mural, and she is looking for community participation.
LaNelle Davis’ mosaic will capture the community spirit involved in the former Willis Brothers Seafood building, also known as “Elmer’s clam house.” It will honor the work, the community and the people who worked at the clam house.
Native gives ‘clam house’ new life
8/18/2018
It’s probably safe to say that relatively few women – or men – would start an oyster seed nursery at age 65. It’s probably even safer to say that few if any women or men who deign to take on that task and degree of risk would buy a big, decrepit cinder block building, renovate it and hope the business will help revitalize an entire community, albeit a small one.
But Susan Fulcher Hill is doing it in Williston.
Oyster Seeding
Various groups have come together after Hurricane Florence to reseed oyster beds in Jarrett Bay.