SHARK BITE OYSTERS TOUR PHOTO BY DECLAN ROGERS
New Smyrna Beach is leaning into the sustainable tourism market, with a growing lineup of conservation-focused experiences centered on the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon.
One of the newer options is an oyster farm tour with SharkBite Oysters (Website), which takes guests on a three-hour excursion aboard the Narwhal, a restored Maine lobster boat, through the waterways of Mosquito Lagoon. The tour winds through mangrove forests and oyster beds with stops at the farm itself, with chances to spot dolphins, manatees, and native birds along the way.
SharkBite Oysters was founded in 2022 by Florida native Sam Walsh. The operation has grown from 50,000 to more than one million oysters across hundreds of cages in the lagoon, supplying New Smyrna Beach restaurants including the newly opened The Local Pearl Oyster Bar on Canal Street, as well as restaurants nationally.
Other eco-tourism options in the area include tours through the Marine Discovery Center, Viking EcoTours, Cracker Creek, and Turtle Mound River Tours. The Marine Discovery Center also runs shoreline cleanups, oyster shell recycling through its Shuck & Share program, and Living Shoreline restoration projects.
New Smyrna Beach has also partnered with Leave No Trace and is developing a Stewardship Travel Plan to guide visitors on minimizing environmental impact across the area’s beaches and waterways.
