After the oyster larvae have metamorphosed into non-swimming spat, they are transferred into our system of upwellers. An upweller is a culture unit that has water entering upward through a mesh bottom, past the oysters and out the top. The "upwelling" water flow supplies oysters with food and oxygen and removes waste. Oysters stay in upwellers for several months until their shell length is approximately 6.4 mm, at which point they are ready to be planted out in the field.