Dining Out

Shuck It To Me

Charlestown’s oystering boom

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What’s not to like about oysters? They are my favorite fast food. Served ice cold, they go great with beer or wine or even a craft cocktail. Their briny taste reminds me of warm summer days at the beach when I was a kid, and getting hit in the face with a wave. And then there’s all that talk about them being an aphrodisiac. They have an air of mystery and sophistication.

Here in southern Rhode Island, the oyster industry dates back to the 1700s. The production of oysters peaked around 1911 when 1.3 million bushels were landed. Shucked, those oysters would be worth about $135 million today. Oystering went into a serious decline in the 1920s, and the industry suffered a crushing blow with the Great Hurricane of 1938. Many oyster companies never reopened. It wasn’t until the 1970s that there was renewed interest in local aquaculture. Since 1996, the number of farms has grown from six to 28, with oysters dominating the field. The old oystermen say there’s no better place to grow oysters than Rhode Island.

The newest oyster farmer on the local scene is Matt Behan who operates the Behan Family Farm, a three-acre oyster and clam aquaculture operation in Charlestown’s Ninigret Pond. Matt, who has a bachelor’s degree in aquaculture from the University of Rhode Island, runs the farm with his father. In the past year, the two men planted 150,000 oysters. The first batch of seeds was planted on April 1, some of which grew into full-size oysters by September. Matt is a fan of the Eastern cupped oyster, which has a very deep cup in which the oyster meat and natural juice lie. This year, Matt hopes to plant 400,000. The way things are going, it won’t be long before Matt has to hire people to help him maintain the farm. He expects this to be “a break-out year” for his business. He will also start raising slower growing clams, quahogs and littlenecks, which should be ready for harvesting next year. Behan Family Farms is a model of sustainable seafood production in the Northeast.

Right now, you can sample Matt’s oysters at a number of local restaurants: Oyster Club in Mystic; Olympia Tea Room in Westerly; Matunuck Oyster Bar in Matunuck. He hopes to be selling his organic oysters to the consumer at farmer’s markets starting this summer.

Behan Family Farm, Charlestown, Oyster farm, oysters, SO Rhode Island

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