Ten Years Later, Buzzards Bay Oyster Farmer Still Going Strong

COURTESY PETER CHASE Oyster farmer Peter Chase works his grant off the coast of Quissett with Payson Titcomb of Sandwich, who used to help as a deckhand. The two haul a cage to sort through oysters. The oysters are inside mesh bags that slide into the cage.

COURTESY PETER CHASE
Oyster farmer Peter Chase, at left, works his grant off the coast of Quissett with Payson Titcomb of Sandwich, who used to help as a deckhand. The two haul a cage to sort through oysters. The oysters are inside mesh bags that slide into the cage.

FALMOUTH – When Peter Chase walked into Falmouth Town Hall 10 years ago to apply for a permit for an oyster grant in waters off Quissett, he was the first to have done so in more than 100 years.

“They didn’t know how to begin. No one had gone through the process and a lot of people were unfamiliar with the benefits,” he said. “There were so many hurtles to jump through.”

Back then, the only oyster grant in Falmouth was the Kelley grant in Waquoit Bay off Washburn Island, which had been in place since the late 19th century.

One reason for that, according to Chase, is that Falmouth does not have a lot of intertidal shallow waters, unlike the north side of the Cape from Barnstable to Wellfleet where those waters are extensive and oystering is well established.

Also, the town of Falmouth did not then permit commercial shellfish grants in its salt ponds.

COURTESY WOODS HOLE HISTORICAL MUSEUM Oyster farmer Peter Chase gives a talk at the Woods Hole Historical Museum, as oyster farmer Eric Matzen stands by.

COURTESY WOODS HOLE HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Oyster farmer Peter Chase gives a talk at the Woods Hole Historical Museum, as oyster farmer Eric Matzen stands by.

But these days, the town of Falmouth itself is in the oyster business, using the bivalves to filter the waters of Little Pond, and the number of oyster farmers is growing in the region.

“Based on the number of people who have applied, not just in town but in New England, shellfish aquaculture is really blooming and as an industry is ramping up incredibly,” Chase said.

And word is out about the environmental benefits.

With concern about water quality in estuaries all around Cape Cod, the oyster’s natural ability to filter water is being looked at as one part of the solution to clean out excess nutrients, a far less expensive solution than sewering. One single adult oyster is able to filter about 50 gallons of water. The way the oyster improves the water quality is that the filtering process improves the clarity of the water. That allows more sunlight to reach the bottom of the estuary and improves the habitat.

Chase is one of four farmers who make up a shellfish cooperative that shares a wholesale facility out of Coonamessett Farm. The four sell their product under the moniker Sippewissett Oysters.

Besides Chase’s grant, which he operates himself, there is Eric Matzen, who works with Ronald Smolowitz, the owner of Coonamessett Farm, to farm a grant off Gunning Point, further up the coast of Buzzards Bay; Mary and Steve Murphy, who have a raft of oysters in Great Harbor in Woods Hole; and Dan Ward, who has a large grant off the coast of Megansett in North Falmouth.

COURTESY WOODS HOLE HISTORICAL MUSEUM Volunteers shuck oysters at an event featuring Sippewissett Oysters.

COURTESY WOODS HOLE HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Volunteers shuck oysters at an event featuring Sippewissett Oysters.

Chase’s two-acre grant is off a secluded beach between Stoney Beach in Woods Hole and Quissett Harbor.

Oysters are said to take on the flavor of the waters where they are grown. Sippewissett Oysters, grown in the high-sality and mineral-rich waters of Buzzards Bay, have what Chase calls, “a clean salty taste.”

Chase notes that, like any other farmer, he experiences good years and bad years; every season is different as the weather affects the animals.

“I’ve definitely gotten better at it,” he said.

For Chase, the oyster grant is a sideline. His day job is as a fisheries biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In contrast with the grants in the shallow waters off Barnstable, Dennis and Wellfleet, among others, Chase’s grant is in 20 to 25 feet of water.

But Chase said there are advantages with being in deeper water.

For one thing, he does not have to worry about theft. The cages are very heavy and anyone wanting to take one would need a commercial boat with a winch.

He also doesn’t have to worry about ice in the winter. Because his cages are underneath the ice, he can leave them out year-round.

One issue he does have in deeper water is with an aggressive predator. “Starfish have been a problem for me,” he said.

Chase is a small-time oyster farmer and he wants to keep it that way. The whole idea of the venture is that he can work the grant himself, so there is no desire to grow bigger.

He never starts with more than about 100,000 seed, as opposed to the bigger producers who use well into the millions.

But, for Peter Chase, that works out just fine. “I love doing it. It’s really fun to work through the challenges and at the end, you have something good to eat,” he said.

Sippewissett oysters can be purchased at Coonamessett Farm on Hatchville Road in Falmouth. They are also on the menu at several restaurants in Falmouth, including Glass Onion and the Quarterdeck.

On Wednesdays in the summer, Sippewissett oysters are available at the raw bar set up as part of Jamaican Night at the Coonamessett Farm. Tonight’s event is the last of the season.

This Friday, August 28, the Woods Hole Museum is having a fundraiser that will feature Peter Chase and fellow oyster farmer Eric Matzen, talking about Sippewissett oysters. Perhaps more importantly, they will teach people how to open them safely. Admission is $40 for the general public and $30 for museum members, and includes samples of Sippewissett oysters and wine chosen to complement the shellfish. In past years, the event has sold out. To order a ticket, call the Woods Hole Historical Museum at 508-548-7270.

By LAURA M. RECKFORD, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

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