WELLFLEET — Oysters don’t hibernate, but when winter sets in and water temperatures dip below 48 degrees Fahrenheit, they enter something like a dormant state, which allows them to conserve […]
Aquaculture
ON THE FLATS
Meet the Farmers of Mayo Beach
Growers respond to nature and science as they consider the future of shellfishing
WELLFLEET — Jake Puffer beckons a group of touring visitors closer, asking if they want to peek inside the ridges of his farm’s oyster hats. Disks dipped in lime, sand, […]
ON THE FLATS
Meet the Farmers of Mayo Beach
Growers respond to nature and science as they consider the future of shellfishing
WELLFLEET — Jake Puffer beckons a group of touring visitors closer, asking if they want to peek inside the ridges of his farm’s oyster hats. Disks dipped in lime, sand, […]
QUAHOG REPORT
For Clam Growers, It’s Planting Time
As this year’s harvest is devoured, shellfish farmers look two years out
For most clam lovers, the labor involved in enjoying the bivalves is about as rigorous as scooping them baked and stuffed out of their shells, or perhaps balancing them, along […]
ON THE BEACH
What It Means to Have Oyster Eyes
The hunt for a bivalve that’s not as sedentary as you might think
At no time of the year is oystering more challenging for those who farm them than now, when we’re on the verge of colder weather and the possibility of sea […]
TAKE YOUR PICK
The Other Oyster Fest: Eastham’s Salt Pond Sundays
Here, people follow the tides together, with permits and pails
EASTHAM — First light breaks on a balmy November Sunday. Dried leaves rustle in the steady breeze, but otherwise the waking world is hushed, silent even of birdsong. I have […]
THE HALF SHELL
Six Tips From Behind the Raw Bar
It takes leverage, not brute strength, to shuck a Wellfleet oyster
WELLFLEET — Lili Hay has been shucking oysters since she was seven years old, though she says her technique has evolved since then. “My dad taught me,” she says. “But […]
QUAHOGGING
Happy as an Eastham Clam
A walk on the tidal flats, rewarded by sunsets and an old-fashioned chowder
EASTHAM — Patience, perseverance, and 25 dollars. In Eastham, if you have all three, you can buy a year’s worth of serenity, plein air exercise, and sustainably harvested seafood: you […]
Morning After
Irving Puffer at work on his grant in Wellfleet Harbor on a perfectly calm Monday morning after OysterFest weekend. Working with him, but not in this photo was Jake, his […]
CONTENDERS
Behind the Scenes at OysterFest 2020
Lights, cameras, masks: ‘The shuck must go on!’
There will be a shuck off at the 20th annual OysterFest. But there will be no competitive parking, no pressing through crowds on Main Street, and no lines under the […]
OUTER CAPE PORTRAIT
‘I’m Still Moving’
RICHARD BLAKELEY / SHELLFISH GROWER / WELLFLEET
Richard Blakeley has been growing clams and oysters on the Wellfleet flats since the 1980s. A year ago, he spoke of slowing down, perhaps even getting ready to pass the […]
letter from the publisher
One Year and Counting
This week marks a year since we sent our very first edition to press. It was a “preview” edition, full of hope that we’d find the support to develop into […]
OUTER CAPE PORTRAIT
Ingenuity on the Flats
NANCY CIVETTA / SHELLFISH CONSTABLE / WELLFLEET In early July, things are different on Wellfleet’s shellfish flats. Even as restaurants begin to open more fully across the commonwealth and country, […]
AQUACULTURE
Return to the Tides
After their winter slumber, Wellfleet oysters awaken to cold beds
Some of us, tired of winter, are starting to daydream about lazy afternoons, cold beers, and oysters. But for the oyster farmers of Wellfleet, now begins the spring cycle of […]
