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Community Oyster Garden to Open

By
Joanne Pilgrim

A pilot program sponsored by the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery that will get underway this spring will provide an opportunity to try one’s hand at growing oysters, with information and support provided by the hatchery staff. The program had been described as an oyster garden and approved by the East Hampton Town Trustees in early fall.

 The program, East Hampton Shellfish Education Enhancement Directive, was named to enable its acronym: ESEED. Barley Dunne, the hatchery’s director, spoke to the town board about it on Tuesday. It is modeled after SPAT — Southold Projects in Aquaculture Training — which is an “oyster gardening” program on the North Fork.

A maximum of 15 growers (individuals or families) will be able to join this year’s pilot program for a $250 fee. The hatchery staff will provide training and hands-on help at the oyster-growing site, in Three Mile Harbor. Each grower will be provided with 1,000 seed oysters as well as the gear to grow them. Information will be disseminated to the public in February, Mr. Dunne said, with   the growing season to start in April.

The oyster spat, Mr. Dunne said, are only about 4 or 5 millimeters at first and will grow to 10 or 15 times that size by the end of the season, ending up at 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches. From June through September, he said, oyster growers would be required to pull up oyster bags and gear for cleaning every couple of weeks to prevent fouling, a task he estimated would take an hour or two. In May and October, the cleaning can be done less often.

At the end of October, everything gets sunk to the harbor bottom for overwintering, and the hatchery will collect half the seed oysters from each patch. In the second year, oysters that reach the proper size can be harvested, and more spat will be issued for reseeding.

The program, Mr. Dunne said, will be both educational and a boon to the bay. One adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, he said, and the oyster farming gear provides a habitat for crabs, nursery fish, and other creatures.

“We appreciate the fact that you’re taking this initiative,” Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said. “I bet you’ll have a waiting list,” Town Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez added

 

 

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