“From the time we seed until harvest it can take 8 to 12 months, but there are so many steps in between that we stay very busy,” she says in her gently French-accented English. “But we don’t sit back and wait. Oysters require much care and monitoring to ensure that they are developing correctly.”

Nancy is accustomed to hard work. Growing up on a family farm raising pigs and producing maple syrup alongside her father and mother, she also served as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces after graduating from the College Militaire Royal. After five years at the military college and six years of active duty, she retired in 2000 and began a new career in the wood veneer industry.

Her experience, skills and industry knowledge led her to Beaufort in 2008. About 10 years later, she began her own firm and continues to work in the wood veneer industry.

“Seven years ago, I started looking around our area and realized that we were perfectly located on the waterfront to start a marine-related business,” she says. Research led her a couple of years later to the NC Shellfish Farming Academy at Carteret Community College.

“We take guests to our oyster farm, passing wild horses on Carrot island and dolphins in Taylor Creek or North River,” … Our guests learn how to shuck their oysters and then get to eat them. It can’t get any better than that.”

“My goal was to create a family business with Maxime and be able to leave a legacy for both my children, Maxime and Emy,” Nancy says. “I had fallen in love with this area and wanted to have a life the way I’d grown up on the farm.”

In 2022, she applied for a shellfish lease on the North River in front of their property. She and Maxime opened Seashore Oyster Company LLC in 2023. They seeded their first oyster bags in August 2023 and harvested their first oysters in June 2024.

Word spread quickly about their oysters and clams, and in the first 19 months they had more than 35 customers — from seafood markets and private chefs to restaurants, distributors and individual buyers.

“I am so proud that we’ve accomplished more than we ever imagined,” she says.

As if her fulltime sales career and managing Seashore Oyster Company weren’t keeping her busy enough, she and Maxime now conduct guided oyster tours during the summer.

“We take guests to our oyster farm, passing wild horses on Carrot island and dolphins in Taylor Creek or North River,” Nancy says. “They learn about our farming practices, what we do daily and about the North Carolina shellfish industry. Our guests learn how to shuck their oysters and then get to eat them. It can’t get any better than that.”

Through it all Nancy prioritizes conservation, preservation and environmental sustainability. She calls it her dream.

“I feel truly fortunate to share this journey with my family — working side by side on the land and water, overcoming challenges, celebrating successes, and building memories and a legacy that will last for generations.”