Owner Seth White founded this oyster farm in February in the New Meadows River. He previously worked at Mere Point Oyster Co. and holds a master’s degree in aquaculture. In addition to oysters, White is experimenting with growing seaweed and sea urchins on his lease site.
This gallery is part of “Cultivating the Coast,” a special report that explores Harpswell’s rapidly growing aquaculture industry.
Seth White holds a handful of Irish sea moss pulled from his aquaculture operation in Middle Bay in Harpswell on June 21. White grows the moss to feed the sea urchins he cultivates on the same site. “Once a month on a cool night, I’ll haul them up and stuff them full of seaweed to make sure they don’t starve out there,” he said. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Seth White hauls in a line of 15 bags of the Irish sea moss he grows in Middle Bay on June 21. While his current plans don’t include selling the seaweed, he says it has potential market value as a nutritional superfood. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Seth White demonstrates how he grows Irish sea moss in purple mesh bags at the site of his aquaculture lease in Middle Bay on June 21. White envisions a symbiotic relationship on his lease site where oyster waste provides nutrition for the sea moss that he then uses to feed his sea urchin crop. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Oyster cages float at the site of Sol Mariculture’s oyster nursery in Middle Bay on June 21. White will eventually move the cages to his deeper-water lease to grow the oysters to size. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Seth White holds a specially designed cage at his oyster nursery in Middle Bay on June 21. The smaller holes minimize loss of younger oysters while still providing good water flow to keep them healthy. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Seth White opens a spat bag full of seed oysters in Middle Bay on June 21. The fine mesh bags are used to start the tiny oysters that will be moved to larger cages as they grow. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Seth White holds a handful of oyster spat while visiting his oyster nursery in the Harpswell portion of Middle Bay on June 21. “Babies like warm, shallow water,” White said of the location. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
A seagull perches atop a line of floating cages at Seth White’s oyster farm in Middle Bay on June 21. “One of my favorite parts is just the animals that oyster farming attracts — beautiful birds and seals,” White said. “I’m constantly seeing cute little seal heads pop up, and it’s another great perk of the job.” (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
