PROVINCETOWN — A squad of marine educators has been deployed on the oyster flats of Provincetown in an attempt to teach the curious while protecting the livelihoods of those who work there.
Six “clambassadors” have been hired in a pilot project funded by a $9,400 grant from the Provincetown Economic Development Committee (EDC). They wear bright yellow sashes and sun hats; their job is to teach visitors about aquaculture — and keep them away from the farmers at work.
The program founder, Mike Chute, said having oyster grants on publicly accessible town land created problems with people exploring the area, including on his own farms. Some were found to be taking the farmers’ oysters, while others opened cages out of curiosity and failed to close them properly, potentially damaging the crop.
“People come out here constantly — it’s the biggest hindrance to our work,” Chute said. “But our clambassadors love to chat, so they help that problem.”
The idea was inspired by Chute’s father, Donald, who took a nonconfrontational approach to steering visitors away from the family farm, particularly those who had dogs with them.
“We focus on friendliness when we interact with people with dogs,” Donald Chute said. “We’ll say, ‘Hey, did you know we farm here?’ Because people seem to not push back when it’s educational.”
The team members are all Provincetown residents, some with personal connections to the industry and others with a general interest in aquaculture. All of them went through an orientation before heading onto the flats to engage with the public. They work between three and five hours per week and only at low tide.
One of them, Thor Jensen, is originally from Long Island. He moved to town eight years ago after graduating from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in marine biology. He said while visitors can approach them, clambassadors also step in if they see someone doing something that might damage a farm.
“People can be ignorant of what is going on out here,” said Jensen. “They don’t necessarily understand that these are people’s farms and livelihoods.”
Through their business, Mermaid Menu, Mike Chute and his wife, Kalliope, sell oysters to several local restaurants. One of them, Canteen, agreed to support the project by giving them 10-percent discount coupons to hand out to the public. Anyone who learns from a clambassador about Provincetown’s aquaculture can get the discount on oysters from the restaurant.
Jensen said visitors are very receptive. “They’re ecstatic to see coupons,” he said, adding that the potential for increased sales of local produce helps justify the program. “We’re working on an economic grant,” he said. “We want more people to know about this so that they are apt to buy Provincetown oysters.”
The program is the first of its kind in the state, and although the clambassadors will appear only in the summer, Mike Chute said the EDC money would pay for a year of operations including wages and supplies like sun protection.
“This is a pilot program,” he said, adding that he had also applied for funding from the Div. of Marine Fisheries. “It’s outreach. It’s education. It’s a valuable resource for us oyster farmers. I would love to see a clambassador in every waterside Cape town.”
