The World is Their Oyster: The Oyster Bros. Expand and Modernize a Third-Generation Texas Seafood Legacy

This third-generation seafood family transitioned from shrimping and now produces millions of oysters each season along Texas’ Gulf Coast.

PALACIOS, TEXAS (RFD News) — Two brothers are finishing another oyster harvest season on the Texas Gulf Coast.

The Texas Farm Bureau introduces us to David and Jacob Aparicio, known as The Oyster Bros., who come from a third-generation shrimping family and saw an opportunity to expand into another branch of aquaculture. The brothers started with around 500,000 oysters and have since grown their operation to about 4 million, shipping product across the Southeast and Southwest.

David Aparicio says the most rewarding part of the job is seeing the process from beginning to end.

“My favorite thing about growing oysters is the process of it,” he said. “I love seeing them from start to finish. It makes you proud whenever you have a really good product.”

Family plays a central role in the business. Jacob Aparicio says that the connection extends beyond just the two brothers.

“The guys that work for us, they all worked for my dad,” he said. “They’ve been with us for two generations now. They’re all kin themselves.”

Texas produces about 15 percent of the nation’s oyster harvest each year, generating more than $33 million in value.

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Knoxville native Neal Burnette-Irwin is a graduate from MTSU where he majored in Journalism and Entertainment Studies. He works as a digital content producer with RFD News and is represented by multiple talent agencies in Nashville and Chicago.


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