Lilli Clausen watches as the 45-foot-long oyster barge Lady Lil is launched in the waters of Coos Bay in April of 2005. World Photo by Lou Sennick

NORTH BEND (AP) - One of the largest oyster businesses in Oregon is for sale.

Lilli Clausen left her job as a substitute teacher 26 years ago to join her husband, Max, in starting Clausen Oysters. For the past five years, she's run the business by herself while Max enjoys retirement.

Now it's Lilli's turn to relax.

“I'd like to take a vacation,” Clausen said.

The couple tried to distinguish themselves from competitors by selling individual oysters, rather than the entire cluster. The business grew steadily until the New Carissa ran aground in 1999, spilling diesel and fuel oil into the Clausens' prime harvesting grounds.

Before the spill, Clausen Oysters was grossing more than $1 million annually. After the disaster, sales dropped to $300,000.

“Carissa nearly killed us off,” Lilli Clausen said.

As they waited for a $1.4 million damage award, the Clausens had to borrow money to stay afloat. By 2003, their credit ran out and they stopped planting oysters. That fall, however, they finally got paid, so they only missed a single growing season.

Slowly, the business was rebuilt.

“Demand is way up,” Clausen said. “And Coos Bay grows oysters very fast - in three years, versus five in Washington state. They grow on top of each other. There are no predators, no stingrays. It's really a unique place.”

Not that there aren't challenges in oyster growing. Harvest must always take place at low tide, be that at 2 a.m. or 2 p.m., and it's tough to find people willing to work in the mud at all hours of the day. Moreover, an inch and a half of rainfall in any 24-hour period closes down the farm, as state regulators don't want runoff from inland pollution sources to contaminate the product and make customers sick.

Still, Clausen said the business is successful and “turnkey ready.”