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Meet Your Local Shellfish FarmerDave Slack – Pleasant Bay Oyster CompanyThe Decision to Farm Shellfish
Dave Slack grew up in Pembroke, MA, vacationed at Onset Bay as a child and made a permanent move to the Lower Cape in the 1970’s. Since he first moved to the Cape he has worked in tiling, with wild steamers and mussels, lobstering, gill-netting, and part-time in the fish dragging industry. It really seemed like a natural move for Dave to get involved in the Aquaculture business after working in the wild Shellfishing industry. He feels with Aquaculture there is more control of the conditions and propagation of the shellfish. Dave received a State Approved Aquaculture Grant in 1995. His 1.5 acre Aquaculture Grant can be seen at low tide in Pleasant Bay off Paw Wah Landing in Orleans. Enjoying His WorkWhen asked if he enjoys working in Aquaculture, Dave said, “Every day can bring a new challenge and it is never boring. Working in nature is tough on the bad weather days, but when spring warms the water and creates lots of food for the shellfish, the curtain goes up. Green water is abundant with food for the oysters. You work hard but feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. You watch your seed oysters grow from as little as 2.5 mm up to a legal size of 3 inches and more, and when things go well you have a good crop to sell at market.” Raising the “Sweet and Buttery” Oysters of Pleasant Bay
The differences in salinity, caused by the amount of freshwater mixing, and tidal averages from one region to another will cause variations in the taste of shellfish. The average tide in Pleasant Bay is 4+ feet and the streams that feed the bay with fresh water cause ideal conditions for shellfish farming. Dave now works almost exclusively with the propagation of oysters. The “Sweet and Buttery” Oysters of Pleasant Bay, so described by the Neptune Oyster in Boston’s North End, have come into their own and gained popularity with the shellfish and Food industries in New York, Boston and Cape Cod. Cape Cod oysters are thought to be the sweetest because of the cool clean ocean waters that surround the cape mixing with abundant freshwater flowing from the land into the estuaries where they grow. The Future of the Aquaculture IndustryWhen asked about his opinion of the future of the Aquaculture Industry Dave said, “As far as Fin Fish farming goes, Pleasant Bay is too shallow and comparatively small to raise large populations of fish without serious impact on navigation and other fisheries not to mention water quality. On the other hand, I think that Americans, Europeans and those from other parts of the world will always love their oysters. In my location within Pleasant Bay there are relatively few boat moorings and homes at this time. However, managing the future of residential development and moorings along the shoreline is crucial to avoiding nitrogen and pollutant overload in the future.” The amount of Eelgrass present in the bay is one indicator of the health of the bay. Scallops and other beneficial organisms live in the eelgrass in the shallows of Pleasant Bay. In fact, the greener the water, the more nutrients for the shellfish. Unfortunately, according to the Orleans, Pleasant Bay Management Report, the bay is already losing eelgrass at a rate of about 11 acres per year, which is worrisome. To improve or even to maintain the health and productivity of the bay will require some tough decisions at the town level. Dave’s Favorite Recipe for Baked Oysters
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Lower Cape Cod Community Development Corporation 3 Main Street, Unit 7 Eastham, MA 02642 (800) 220-6202 |
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