This story is part of “Cultivating the Coast,” a special report that explores Harpswell’s rapidly growing aquaculture industry.
Harpswell oyster lovers who want to eat shellfish from their home waters have several options.
They can buy oysters in town at Hawkes’ Lobster in Cundy’s Harbor, or enjoy them on the half-shell at Cook’s Lobster & Ale House on Bailey Island.
Gurnet Trading Co., just across the bridge from Great Island to Brunswick, sells Harpswell oysters. Cashier Grace Munsey said customers like to know their oysters are grown nearby.
Any Harpswell oyster farmer with a retail license can sell their own product. Customers can contact them to arrange pickup and should bring a cooler and ice packs.
For eco-conscious consumers, 100% of the proceeds from the Quahog Bay Conservancy’s Snow Island Oysters are reinvested in the organization to keep the bay clean and support sustainable aquaculture. Snow Island Oysters are available from the conservancy, Hawkes’ Lobster, Gurnet Trading, or Island Creek Oysters in Portland.
Harpswell oysters also are in demand at restaurants, raw bars and seafood markets from Portland through the Midcoast.
Harpswell oysters can be shipped from Maine Oyster Co. or picked up in Portland at Harbor Fish Market. Owner Mike Alfiero appreciates the quality, consistency and dependable delivery of the Harpswell oyster farmers he buys from, calling the relationship “a successful collaboration.”
For Rick Humphrey, general manager of Upstream, a seafood distribution company based in Portland, “It’s demand, it’s brand recognition, it’s experience and it’s relationships” that prompt him to carry oysters from Harpswell. His business supplies oysters to high-end Portland restaurants like Fore Street and Scales.
For agritourists, there are multiple Harpswell stops along the Maine Oyster Trail. The New Meadows River Shellfish Co-op will host its annual Open Farm Day on Aug. 9. And Love Point Oysters offers tours to its Casco Bay farm — with tastings.
Brendan Murray is the shellfish buyer at Eventide Oyster Co., which bills itself as a “revival of the great American oyster bar” and has locations in Portland and Boston. Murray said Eventide’s menu cycles through about 45 oyster farms from up and down the Maine coast.
“And yeah, we always have some Harpswell on,” he said.
This story is part of “Cultivating the Coast,” a special report that explores Harpswell’s rapidly growing aquaculture industry.
