Partying on the Half-Shell

Guests at an East Hampton Shellfish Education and Enhancement Directive fund-raiser at Bay Kitchen Bar on Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m. will have the opportunity to learn about growing oysters and have a bunch of them on the half shell, if they are so inclined.

The restaurant is on Gann Road overlooking Three Mile Harbor; the event is sponsored by the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery, the South Fork Natural History Museum, and Veterinarians International.

EHSEED, as the program is known for short, is a new program run by the town hatchery that begins with lectures on shellfish culture on May 21 and June 25. In late July participants will be given 1,000 seed oysters and gear in which to grow them. In October, half of each 1,000 allotment, now much larger in size, will be returned to the hatchery to be distributed in local waters. The balance will be ready for participants’ eating pleasure at the end of the second growing season or so. Enrollment in the inaugural year of the program has been capped at 15 people.

Money from Saturday’s party will go to pay for equipment to be used at the hatchery. The $65 per person cost includes beer from the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, wine by Channing Daughters Winery, the oysters, and other light fare. There will be a tour of the nearby shellfish nursery. Tickets can be ordered by phone at 537-9735 or at easthamptonoysterparty.eventbrite.com.

Aside from being delicious, oysters provide a range of ecological benefits, notably by each fully grown specimen filtering up to 50 gallons each day.